The pan-India locdown enforced as a consequence of the novel coronavirus outbreak in India was recently exttended for the fourth time. While lockdown 4.0 has allowed many of the restrictions to be removed, this does not apply to those within containment zones.
According to the guidelines released by the Mantralaya in Mumbai, sale of liquor will be made possible for those within Maharashtra, provided they are in a green, red or orange zone of the state.
Those within containment zones however will have only essential services made available to them. Liquor does not fall under this essential service and product list.
It must be emphasised that a containment zone is a small area within a red or orange zone. In the case of Mumbai for example, while the city remains a red zone, there are many small containment zones within it.
According to the state government, while only home delivery of liquor will be possible in the red zones (such as Mumbai), in the rest of the areas liquor shops will open. As mentioned earlier, this does not apply to containment areas.
Shops that are now opening their doors will have to ensure social distancing norms are measured. According to the state government, a minimum of six feet distance between customers have to be ensured by shops. Additionally, not more than five people shall be allowed at the shop at a given point in time.
Consumption of liquor, paan, tobacco etc in public places is also prohibited.
