Tipplers queued up in thousands to buy liquor in the district as the State Government opened liquor shops on Monday after a long gap of 43 days.
The turnout of crowds caught the administration off guard, forcing the Excise and Prohibition officials to close down 14 wine shops in Satyavedu and Nagari Assembly constituencies in the district as the crowds threw social distancing norms to the wind. Officials said that the heavy turnout was due in large part to an influx of a large number of customers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Dramatic scenes prevailed outside wine shops as customers began trickling in right from Sunday midnight. All wine shops opened between 11 a.m. and noon, while some could not open due to technical glitches. No wine shops were allowed to open in the containment zone of Srikalahasti.
While people did their best to follow the social distancing norms in the beginning, things began to go out of hand after around an hour as the crowds swelled. Pandemonium prevailed at many wine shops in Tavanampalle, Irala, Piler and Punganur mandals as customers began milling around the counters and refused to stand in line, prompting the police to intervene and order the customers to form a queue.
With the government announcing that only two bottles would be sold to each customer, many people were seen rejoining the queue after buying liquor.
An uncontrolled frenzy was witnessed at Nindra, Vijayapuram, Nagari and Satyavedu mandals. Thousands of men from the villages and town of Tiruvallur district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu flocked to the wine shops, leading to commotion.
Chaos prevailed in Palasamudram mandal, which shares a lengthy border with Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, with thousands of men arriving at the wine shops flouting all norms. At Varadiahpalem, groups of people who purchased the bottles resorted to dancing after consuming liquor in public.
Price hike defended
Deputy Chief Minister and Excise minister K. Narayanaswamy, speaking to reporters at his residence in Puttur town said that the crowds were expected as the wine shops were opened after 43 days. He added that many people from T.N. added to the crowds. Defending the 25% increase in liquor prices, he said that the move was aimed at imposing total prohibition, besides gradually reducing the number of wine shops.
Deputy Commissioner (Excise and Prohibition) T. Naga Lakshmi told The Hindu that out of the total of 340 wine shops in the district, 332 were opened on Monday. “When the situation threatened to spiral out of control at the wine shops at the inter-State border areas of Satyavedu, Nindra and Vijayapuram, we were forced to close 14 wine shops. The main reason is that hundreds of men from T.N. crossed into Chittoor limits to purchase liquor. The wine shops at these vulnerable areas would continue to be closed till further development. We don’t want to risk the possibility of COVID-19 spread,” the official said.