Withdrawal of new excise policy instils chaos among the vendors
New Delhi: Delhi government's decision to scrap new Liquor policy has instilled fear amongst private liquor shop owners and their staff. Millennium Post spoke to a few liquor shop owners and its employees to shed some light on the situation on ground.
Rahul Singh, who runs a private liquor shop at Lajpat Nagar told this newspaper that customers coming for particular brands are getting disappointed. "Our sales are down too because many customers believe shops are shut in Delhi. If licenses are extended, there could be a shortage of liquor as several shops are sold out. We barely have stocks left. We fear that as soon as stocks are empty, thousands of us will lose our jobs.
He added that he is the sole breadwinner of my family. "No one knows or cares about what will happen to the workers and staff who are employed at private liquor shops," he said.
Another employee Bobby, who works at Ashram liquor shop said that to clear out stock, they are selling liquor brands with discounts up to 25 per cent and offers such as 'buy one get one free,' 'buy two get three free' on premium brands.
"I recently shifted to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh. I don't know what I will do if I lose my job. I have a family of five and I am the sole breadwinner. I have to send money to my parents too. I came to Delhi for work. We are clueless about what is happening. The news about the recent government about closure of private shops is confusing as I have also heard that the license may be renewed for one more month. Now, I have to look out for another job," he said
On July 30, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the Delhi government's new liquor policy (Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22) will be scrapped entirely and that from August 1, there will be only government-owned liquor vendors who are allowed to sell alcohol in Delhi.
This would mean the end of the road for about 468 private liquor vendors operational in Delhi. However, the Delhi government has extended licenses of country liquor vends by two months till
September 30.
