Etawah: As Covid-19 continues to disrupt lives, the Etawah administration in Uttar Pradesh has found a novel idea to promote the Covid vaccination drive. Liquor stores in Saifai of Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district have started to sell liquor only to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and produce certificates.

Notices that say “No liquor without vaccine certificate” have been prominently displayed outside liquor outlets in Sefai in the Etawah district.

“We are selling liquor only after checking the COVID vaccination certificate of the customer,” a shopkeeper says. A sign outside his store reads, “Liquor will only be available to those who have been vaccinated (against COVID-19)”.

The notices were put up at the direction of Etawah Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Hem Kumar Singh. ADM Hem Kumar Singh directed liquor outlets to display notices clearly stating that alcohol will not be sold to anyone who is yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“No such order has been issued. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate might have asked liquor sellers to motivate people to get vaccinated,” he said.

Owners of liquor outlets were also warned against selling liquor to customers without verifying their vaccination certificates.

However, Etawah district excise official Kamal Kumar Shukla said no order has been issued to stop the sale of liquor to those who are yet to receive the jab. He went on to add that the district administration’s efforts to shore up inoculations must be encouraged but there are no orders mandating vaccine certificates for the purchase of liquor.

Uttar Pradesh has set a target of administering one crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the month of June. In order to achieve this target, district officials in the state are implementing novel ideas to promote vaccination.As per the union health ministry, as many as 19,80,245 people between the ages of 18 to 44 in Uttar Pradesh have received the first dose against the vaccine while 8,792 have received their second shot.

(With Agency inputs)