The reopening of liquor outlets in the district was marred by technical and logistical hitches on Thursday.
Though the resumption of liquor sale was technologically aided by a mobile app for virtual queue management to avoid crowding, long queues were spotted before many liquor outlets and bars, which were also authorised to sell liquor at the same rate as the outlets.
“The absence of scanner at outlets and bars to scan the QR code received by customers on the app meant that they had to adopt a manual process that considerably delayed the sale, leading to formation of queues at many places. So, a customer who was allotted a 15-minute slot for the purchase left much later,” a senior excise official said. Staff at liquor outlets confirmed that they had to manually note down the QR code number, name and outlet id before issuing bottles, slowing down the entire process. They felt that the manual process also ran the risk of unscrupulous elements passing off screen shots of QR codes received by others as their own.
A premium outlet at Gandhi Nagar had to close the gate and involve police and security guards to regulate the queue that got lengthened by the time. “I returned without buying after seeing the big queue when I turned up during my allotted slot between 12.45 p.m. and 1 p.m. It was ridiculous since it had undone the very purpose of the app, which was meant for ensuring physical distancing,” said Pramod, a senior sales executive.
Since the app allotted time randomly based on the pin code, customers who were looking for rather reasonably-priced brands ended up receiving slots in premium bars, which dealt only in premium brands alone. “I stood in queue only to be told at the end of it that there was no brand priced below ₹2,500,” said Binu Bharat, a travel operator who returned empty-handed from a bar at Kadavanthra.
Jose Pradeep, treasurer of Association of Approved and Classified Hotels of Kerala, said that there was the risk of stock running out.
Over-the-counter sale of liquor was conducted at 50 Bevco outlets and 209 bars in Ernakulam district on Thursday. The district witnessed the sale of 40,125 litres of IMFL, 11,250 litres of beer and 72 litres of wine on the day.