New Delhi: With the Delhi government opening 150 select state-run liquor shops in the city, long queues and violation of social distancing norms were witness at many places in the national capital on Monday, forcing many such stores to close down.
Interestingly, queues of Bacchus worshipers were seen outside many shops which were not even allowed to reopen due to precautionary norms. Buyers had begun to gather outside liquor shops, allowed to operate, as early as 8.30 am leading to long queues. “When the first lockdown was announced (from March 24 midnight), we thought things will be under control within days. So, we never stocked liquor. It’s been over 40 days. So, the first thing to do for me in the morning was to get some stock,” said Prashant Mehra, as he waited outside a liquor shop in East of Kailash.
Mehra was leading a queue, stretching to a few metres, while a longer queue started to form at a nearby store. However, to his utter disappointment, a security guard posted at a nearby ATM informed him and others both the shops were actually not allowed to reopen yet.
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