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
Kill them whenever they enter your home, there is no punishment for self defense... Judiciary is permit you to kill any person or group if they enter your home forcefully...next time don't give them a chance to escape alive...
BJP has lost its civic sense,how can they rule the country? if they cannot respect senior citizens. Intolerance has reached its peak amongst BJP. Curse of these senior citizens will lead them to their dooms day in sha Allah.They should not forget that human is mortal
BJP is a sore loser
Where is Ibraheem Hussain Udupi
Where is CongRSS ? are Siddanna,Paramesh appa, rammnna ?
COWARDS Since the time of BRITIISH, Either supporting the british against indian independence or attack cowardly 100 X 1 or 3
Animal is animal (do they ask people to worship them or use it to celebration)
Please publish news about BJP MP Statement
Terrorism will not destroy without ending Islam
Let people come to know about elected candidate work progress
Guys election is over, accept the reality and work together for the betterment of poor and downtrodden people. But police do their job and nab those who are responsible for attacking old age persons and destroying their properties....this is really bad...
Really very much condemnable, but how much you reported that , we Hindustanis non believable movement attacking the Woman, totally Criminalizes, Goonda act non bail Black Prison Inside, These BJP,RSS Criminal Goondas so far not attacked women their Plan only make Problem for Looting, the biggest Looters, Thieves are BJP/RSS Goondas and Criminals, looks like now in Karnataka in Siddannas Government they can not do their Criminalize, path were these Criminals ruling.
\\"but one thing Every Dog has its own Day Anna\"
Jia Hindustan."
Acche din
This is a time to ban BJP/RSS terrorist group and kicking them out of the country
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