Pune: Norms flouted as liquor shops reopen; police warn of action

Neha Madaan | TNN | Updated: May 5, 2020, 07:28 IST

The police had to resort to mild caning in some parts of Mumbai as people rushed to liquor shops early on Monday

The police had to resort to mild caning in some parts of Mumbai as people rushed to liquor shops early on Mond...Read More

PUNE: Liquor shops reopened in Pune district and many other places across the state on Monday, after a gap of 45 days, triggering a mad rush of tipplers at the outlets since early in the morning.
People formed queues from as early as 7am though the liquor shops did not open before 1.30pm as the owners were awaiting permission from the district administration.
Social distancing went for a toss and police were forced to deploy manpower to ensure that customers followed safety norms. In some areas, the shops were closed abruptly as the large crowds failed to maintain the mandatory 6-foot distance between one another.
Joint police commissioner Ravindra Shisve told TOI, “The police will take action against people not following social distancing norms and visiting the shops without masks. All stores, including liquor shops, will have to ensure that social distancing norms are followed by customers. We have directed police officers to close the stores where the norms are not followed.”
A liquor retailer, who chose not to open his store on Monday, said, “People need not rush as liquor shops will be open till further orders are issued. If the government wants to earn revenue, they should provide security to the shops. Shop owners too are risking their lives by opening the establishments at the government’s behest.”
While sale of liquor has been allowed across the state, 15 districts, including parts of Thane, Palghar, Solapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Buldhana and Amravati, have issued notifications stating that liquor shops will not be allowed to open till May 17, the extended lockdown deadline.
Bhushan Gagrani, secretary to the CMO, said the excise department had issued directives allowing all liquor shops to open, except in containment zones. “However, special powers have been delegated to district collectors under the Epidemic Diseases Act, by which they can stringent the restrictions even if the state has given relaxation by citing necessary reasons,” he added.
Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram passed an order on Monday approving liquor sales in non-containment areas in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and the rural parts of the district, including opening of liquor shops and distributorship in such areas.
Ram told TOI,“The huge rush at the liquor shops led to a situation where police had to close some stores. If such a scenario continues, we may have to again close the liquor shops.”
Pune police commissioner K Venkatesham tweeted that liquor shops have to ensure social distancing norms. He warned that action would be taken against shops where crowding occurs. He urged the shops to adopt a token system with timings and arrange for sanitizers.
In rural Pune, senior police officers said shops that failed to maintain social distancing have been ordered to close. In Manchar town, only two liquor shops were open. One of the shops had a half-km queue outside. The police had to resort to a lathicharge to control the crowd there.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Shirur, Yavat in Daund, Bhigwan in Indapur, Bhor and Mulshi tehsils. No liquor shop was opened in Baramati town till Monday evening.
Liquor shops in Nashik, Kolhapur and other places reopened late on Monday afternoon but lack of social distancing by customers who had queued up in large numbers forced them to shut soon. In Solapur city and Aurangabad, the respective district administrations did not allow liquor shops to reopen at all fearing that the huge rush would aggravate the Covid-19 situation.
In Nashik city, district collector Suraj Mandhare on Monday evening ordered all liquor shops shut barely an hour after they had reopened at 3pm. In Aurangabad, the district administration did not allow liquor shops to reopen either in the city or rural areas.
Those who could make liquor purchases were a happy lot. A resident of Wadarwadi in Pune bought six bottles of liquor. He said, “I was waiting since morning for the shop to open. When the shop opened, I got my liquor and also called up others who wanted to make purchases.”
When middle-aged Shrikant Dave of NIBM Road came to the liquor shop on Salunke Vihar Road at 8am, the queue had already stretched to 500m. “I should be cursing myself for watching a movie until late on Sunday night and waking up late on Monday,” he said.
Sagar Karanjavane, a beer shop owner in Bavdhan, said his entire stock was sold out within two hours of opening the outlet on Monday.
A massive crowd gathered outside a liquor shop at Bhandarkar Road since the shop opened on Monday afternoon. “People were doing the rounds of the store since 7am. Nearly 200 people had made inquiries by 11am,” said the watchman of the building housing the store.
(With inputs from Sandip Dighe, Rujuta Parekh, Mihir Tanksale & Joy Sengupta)