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Excise department directed to allow restaurants and hotels to serve liquor

New Delhi: A day after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority allowed hotels and restaurants in the city to reopen, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday directed the Excise department to issue necessary permissions allowing hotels and restaurants to serve liquor at the table or in hotel rooms.

The Deputy CM, in his note to the Excise Commissioner, clarified that "Bars" should remain closed as per the Health Ministry's "Unlock" guidelines.

Sisodia directed the Excise department to consider the revenue implications and "issue necessary permission for service of liquor in the restaurants and clubs by licensees at the table and in the hotel rooms".

Under these rules, restaurants, clubs, lounges and hotels in Delhi will now be able to serve liquor to their customers but only in their rooms or at their tables. The "Bar" at restaurants, if they have one, would presumably be closed and customers may order liquor but only to be served at the table.

Hotels and restaurants in the Capital were until recently closed due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown since March. The sale of liquor from retail shops in the city was allowed in May, however, the DDMA approved the reopening of hotels and restaurants pursuant to the Delhi government's persistence only on Wednesday.

The Authority on Wednesday gave approval for the opening of hotels and weekly markets, a move that is expected to help revive the city's economy which was hit by the coronavirus pandemic and months of lockdown.

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