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.
Speaking to media persons Sanjeev Matandoor, Daskhina Kannada district unit president of BJP, said that some youths were forcibly converted to Islam but no action was taken to curb what he termed conversion racket.
Comments
This is a advance education era. Most of the grown up childrens are well capabe to understand what is good what us bad. What is God's Creation and what is not. In our Inpendence country every one have right to choose their choice.
Orthere no need to interfere or they have right to do any forcefull act fo
Convert the rest or to do forcefull Ghar Wapsi.
Trust street mongers will stop these non sense activity.
Some one faught with his father n left home. Some mentally group's trying to create communal tension in South Kanara surroundings.
State Govt n dept must take strict action n send them behind bar for at least 6 months period is the only right remedy.
Jai Hind
bjp has no other issue and that is the reason they take up converion issue. Its cleared by Police Dept that no case of forced conversion taken place in Suliya. Based on this, Police should ban hate mongers from giving any speech and ban these terrorist organisations.
More & More people converted to Islam in USA & Britain so that they can create another Afaghanistan & Syria
Bopanna...
I feel you need more education on God... U look dumb when u dont study about your enemies.. Dont just depend on cheddis fed info on islam...
Use your own intellect and read your enemies book The QURAn...
I will help U ... read online theQuranProject , well explained for people like you... Try it man.
Another pillar of Islam
1. Bombs
@Sangeeth, Mangalore
Yes! they converted because of listening to zakir naik's speeches. Because he speak the truth. and they liked the truth.
Entire Karnataka incluidng Dakshina Kannada is crying for drinking water. But these shakunis are worried about religious conversions.
I want to ask the bunch of jokers in this forum - Viren, Yogesh & Sangeeth
Your voice speaks that you are really worried of growing popularity of Islam
Why do you think people are forcibly converted? Are they illiterates ?
You will agree to the fact that in this modern age, each product has its own USP and just imagine why there are more Airtel subscribers in the country compared to other telecom providers ?
Are the customers compelled to subscribe for their product ? In this age, every individual are smart enough to decide which one suites him.
So it is foolish to tell people are being converted forcibly
Yogesh...how innocent Hindus became chaddis...this is mind wash from terrorist group RSS
@Yogesh
UK's No 1 News channel
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343954/100-000-Islam-converts-…
@Yogesh proof for yogesh
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343954/100-000-Islam-converts-…
http://www.ibtimes.com/muslims-america-more-latinos-converting-islam-us…
CELEBRITIES WHO CONVERTED TO ISLAM, SO MANY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Islam
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him) ?3:85?.
In this Ayah ?3:19?, Allah said, asserting that the only religion accepted with Him is Islam,
No other religion book says. We dont benifit by converting u people, u are getting benifitted.
At the end of the day, those who doesnt follow and practice islam. He will be the loser.
More educated person is converting to islam than non educated ones.
Highest people are converting islam is from britain and america. There is no pint of force converting.
After 9/11 to prove quran wrong. many started to studing quran, they found that it is the true peace religion. And the terrorists are doing anti islamic. Against islam. So many people converted stil now people are converting.
Many big celebrities like mohammed ali, tyson, tony blairs sister are all converted to islam
please note that hindus converting to islam because of some hate speeches made by hindu leaders like kalladka
@VIren
U should Thank Arabs, the word Hindu is given by Arabs.
The actual Religion is named as Sanathan Dharm. Which nobody Follows.
@viren
How Hindu Population is Increasing, Show me a single Person who converted from Islam to Hindu.
i think u r just telling Opposite,
Plz Check, Ur family Members might have converted to Islam.
Police should arrest all PFI goons , hindu population is increasing day by day and PFI aware about it
Just say in ur heart, La ilaaha illalla Muhammed arra Soorula, u Have passed first stage of islam. No body can stop it.
This is the power of islam.
The Five Pillars consist of:
Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith.
Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day.
Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy.
Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Hajj: pilgrimage to Makkah.
No other religion book says so.
Hindus make idols, But i think, the man who makes the idol. is greater than idol.
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