Govt asks people not to crowd stores & hoard liquor as private vends wind up

New Delhi: As the city stares at a possible shortage of alcohol and crowding outside vends owing to closure of 260 privately-run liquor shops, the Delhi government on Thursday assured that steps are being taken to ensure people don''t face problems, saying state-run vends have been instructed to keep sufficient stocks. Under its new excise policy, the Delhi government has allocated fresh licences to private firms for 850 shops that will enter retail business from November 17.

In view of this, all the private liquor vends were directed to shut shop by September 30. The remaining liquor stores run by Delhi government agencies will also wrap up business on November 16. During this transition period of nearly one-and-half-month, only government-run shops will open which is likely to cause shortage and other problems. In a statement, the Delhi government said the national capital is going to witness a transition phase in the liquor management.

"However, the Delhi government is putting its best foot forward to ensure that the residents do not face much of a problem, " it said.

"Government owned liquor shops have been instructed to make sure they have sufficient stocks to fulfil the demand during this period. The liquor shops have been directed to release payments on time to suppliers so that the supply chains don''t get choked," the statement said.

However, with privately-run shops selling out their stocks and making no fresh orders weeks in advance due to the September 30 deadline, the consumers in many parts of the city had been complaining of shortage.

Naresh Goel, president Delhi Liquor Traders Association said the private liquor vends in many areas had already closed after selling out stocks earlier this week.

"The shortage was visible today as private liquor vends shut shops leading to crowds and long queues outside government owned vends," he claimed.

There are around 720 active liquor vends out of which nearly 260 or 40 percent are privately run. The government expects that sufficient supply at government vends will prevent crowding.

"We expect that in a situation where sufficient supply is maintained, crowding or any other incidents will not take place. We want to reassure the public that they do not need to hoard or rush to stores in this situation as all government-owned shops will continue to function," its statement said.

Meanwhile, as private liquor shops prepare to shut down permanently, owners and employees of such establishments said they have started exploring alternate options, including venturing into other home businesses like property dealing and looking for jobs in other sectors.

Some are even thinking of retirement.