Liquor shops are set to open in Kerala from 9 am on Thursday, Kerala Excise Minister TP Ramakrishnan said while addressing a press conference.

The Kerala government has lauched a mobile app for virtual queue management of the liquor sale. The BevQ app, developed by Kochi-based startup Faircode Technologies Private Limited, on Wednesday received Google's nod to go live on the Play Store.

"We have decided to create a mobile application for crowd management at liquor shops. This is not for home delivery but to book tokens for sale through beverages shops and bars. Our plan is to create a virtual que management system," the Kerala Excise Minister said.

As many as 576 bar hotels, 291 beer parlors and 301 government outlets will be allowed to sell liquor in the state. Alcohol, beer, wine at bars or beer parlors will be sold at MRP.

The bars and beer joints will be required to open a counter for parcel sale and no dine-in facility will be allowed.

Only five people will be allowed at an outlet at one point of time and safety protocols must be followed.

One person can make a booking once in four days. Bookings will be open from 6 am to 10 pm. They can be made through the BevQ application or via SMS.

Outlets will sell liquor from 9 am to 5 pm.

Nobody can come near the outlet or bar hotels without a valid booking, according to the government's guidelines.