As traders and vendors warned the Delhi government of an impending liquor shortage, the Aam Aadmi Party government decided to extend the excise policy in the state to make sure that all wine and beer shops have a steady supply of alcohol.
Despite the extension of the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 by two months, the national capital is reeling through a liquor shortage due to massive buying by the customers, as well as vendors refusing to place bulk orders ahead of their shops closing down.
The liquor traders are afraid that if they place orders in bulk, they will be under pressure to clear the inventory anyhow by the end of this month after their license expires on August 31.
The capital city is not experiencing the liquor crisis for just premium brands, even the non-premium brands are not available at many outlets.
Meanwhile, a total of six zonal licensees have opted out of the extension and surrendered their licences even as private shops reopened on Tuesday after LG V.K. Saxena’s approval for a one-month extension. It has resulted in the closure of 126 stores out of the total 468 that were presently operating in the city.
The liquor crisis in Delhi is expected to get worse as several areas in the capital have no wine and beer shops open. This includes areas such as - Greater Kaliash, Daryaganj, Punjabi Bagh, Chittaranjan Park, Paharganj, Sarita Vihar, Anand Vihar and Shakarpur, among others.
The city was divided into 32 zones for the implementation of the new excise policy by the Delhi government. However, 16 zonal licences have been surrendered out of the 32 zones, as per IANS reports.
Though the bars and restaurants in Delhi continue to serve alcohol, experts have anticipated that the price of drinks is expected to go up soon since vendors have to source their alcohol from vendors from outside Delhi, including Gurugram and Noida.
However, this dilly-dallying approach with the excise policy has confused the consumers and has also impacted the supply chain management.
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(With IANS inputs)
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