• People buy stocks with social distancing ‘on the rocks’
• 79,800 litres of IML, 37,800 litres of beer sold in two days

Mysore/Mysuru: When it comes to alcohol, nobody’s a monk. And probably helping people to get over the unpleasant hangover symptoms like headache, dehydration, upset stomach and fatigue and feel better the morning after heavy drinking, the State Government has allowed liquor shops to open at the crack of dawn (6 am) during the two-week shutdown that began across  the State last night.

With this move, the Government made it clear that it does not lose the handsome revenue gained from the sale of liquor. People too generously contributed to the State Exchequer by stocking up bottles and Mysuru saw a 50 percent increase in sales yesterday and also on Monday, when CM B.S. Yediyurappa made the announcement. 

Perhaps for the first time in Karnataka, liquor shops were officially opened today at 6 am and closed at 10 am.

Many liquor vendors who have been doing this business since decades told Star of Mysore that it was for the first time that the Government has officially allowed liquor outlets to open at the crack of dawn. 

The licence clearly mentions that no liquor shop is allowed to open before 10 am. This time, the Government has given a go-by to the timings. Also, buyers too rushed to shops and stood in long queues without maintaining any semblance of social distance.

Dr. B. Madesh, Deputy Commissioner (Excise) for Mysuru city, told SOM this morning that during last year’s lockdown, the business suffered severe losses and the State finances too reported a huge dent. “Opening from 6 am till 10 am will help the Government maintain its revenue more than the licence holder doing good business. Last year, as there was a complete shutdown, illegal sale thrived so also thefts. Some shop owners themselves sold the bottles and reported thefts. A bottle of liquor that cost Rs. 900 or Rs. 1,000 was sold at Rs. 15,000 in many places,” he said. 

To curb illegal sale, black-marketing and mixing of spurious liquor, this time, the Government has taken the decision to allow liquor shops to open during the four-hour window. “Minutes after the shutdown was announced, people rushed to shops to stock up and Mysuru reported 50 percent jump in sales on Monday and Tuesday,” he added. 

There are 332 liquor outlets in Mysuru city and there are 225 in the district. On a normal day, over 6,000 boxes of Indian Made Liquor (IML) is sold and each box contains 8.4 litres (total 50,400 litres). In the last two days, Mysuru saw the sale of over 9,500 boxes of IML (79,800 litres). Usually over 3,000 cases of beer (each case contains 8.4 litres) is sold on any given day — total quantity of beer is 25,200 litres. In the last two days, Mysuru saw the sale of over 4,500 cases (37,800 litres) of beer, Dr. Madesh said. 

Bars are allowed to sell sealed bottles at MRP rate and wine taverns and wine boutiques are allowed to sell sealed bottles. Microbreweries have been allowed to sell their beer in steel, glass, or ceramic containers of two litres capacity or lower. 

Restaurants attached to bars are allowed to provide takeaway services. However, pubs vending draught beer have not been allowed to function. Also, the ease in restrictions is not applicable to liquor outlets in malls and supermarkets.