Bengaluru, May 4: Booze lovers ushered in the resumption of liquor sales in a spirited fashion in Karnataka onMonday thronging stores hours before shutters went up at severalplaces and made no secret of their celebratory mood.
At some places, they flocked liquor shops even before day-break and performed "special prayers" with flowers, coconuts,incense sticks, camphor and crackers in front of the stores.
Liquor outlets had been shut in the State from March 25 following the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Excise revenue loss during the period was about Rs 2,500 crore, according to government sources.
About 4,500 standalone liquor outlets (CL-2 and CL- 11licence holders), which comprise wine stores and those owned bystate-run Mysore Sales International Limited, outside containmentzones were allowed to be opened from Monday from 9 am to 7 pm withsome restrictions.
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These include customers compulsorily wearing of facemasks andmaintaining social distancing with not more than five people inside liquor shops.
Many customers were indeed well-prepared.
At many places, they came with umbrella, raincoat, newspapers and books and queued up as early as 3 am.
At a liquor shop in Salegame Road in Hassan, the tipplers lit the traditional lamp and incense sticks, performed 'aarati'with camphor and decorated the store with the garland of flowers.
With folded hands, they all performed 'special prayers'.
In Mandya, the tipplers queued up before Martaanda liquor shop before dawn.
An hour before the sales were to resume, a few people burst crackers in celebration.
Some tipplers in Belagavi were more "enterprising."
They wentto a liquor store on Sunday night itself, performed special prayersand placed their "representatives" in the form of slippers, bags and stones in the "social distancing boxes" they themselves had drawn sothat they don't have to stand in queue in the morning.
An elderly woman Dakamma was the centre of attraction in Shivamogga.
The bent body did not bend the determination of this spirited lady, claimed to be 96-year-old, who was heard saying "liquor is goodfor health."
At the taluk headquarters town of Brahmavara in the coastal Udupi district, the queue of the booze lovers was reported to be almost half-a-kilometre.
Long queues were seen at liquor stores at Mariyappana Palya and K R Puram, among others, in Bengaluru.
The store managers too were no less cautious while dealing with customers in the COVID era.
They let the customers enter after spraying sanitisers in their hands, and allowed only those who hadworn masks and maintained social distancing.
To maintain law and order, authorities had deployed policemen in good numbers at these stores and they were seen on duty ensuring that customers maintained social distancing.
Comments
Moral classes for Immoral activities
Oops..Producing some more minor terriorists,,, we have minor cell,,, No issue,, Upon blessing of Saffron Govt,,, documents missing.. as Malegaon blast.. Samajotha blast,,, Release BHAGYA,,,
70% is Hindu population of the nation and if at least 25% are illiterate, still they are more than peace loving community.
However they have at least other 25% educated in them.
The one and only the best solution is target these educated people in conveying the true religion. When they are with you, India will be peaceful country by force.
After sometime it will be peaceful country without force.
Pardon them Lord. These chaddies are ignorant goons. They do not know the fact that what they are doing is selling Bharat maatha to the West.
first of all who are they to teach (rss) ? are they govt? supreme court should stop this kind of nonsense.
INDIAN LAW AND ORDER MUST FOCUS ON THIS CLASSES AND NEED TO TAKE VIDEOS AND CLARIFY,
BEC WE DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TRAINING TO YOUNG CHILDREN
BEC WE DONT WANT ANY TERROR GROUP HERE IN INDIA ...
Cheddis are controlling even our leaders ... We have recognized their cheddi trained MORALS after coming to POWER...
Please DEFINE what is MORALS to YOU>....
Brain washing classes.
RSS and Moral - you must be joking.....where was their moral when they killed Mahatma Gandhi???
Time has come to vanish this terrorist group from INDIA. Hope peace loving INDIANS will do the same very shortly.
Jai Hind
We are seeing what kind of products are coming out from RSS schools. Bajrangdal, VHP, SRS, all immoral rowdies.
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