To circumvent the Supreme Court’s order banning the sale of liquor on highways, the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) is drawing up plans, including opening premium outlets at malls and shopping complexes in the State.
“A premium outlet has been planned at Sobha City Mall in Thrissur. A blueprint will be prepared for municipalities throughout the State. Officials have been asked to look for shopping complexes in rural areas as well. These temporary and permanent strategies are being adopted within the ambit of the law to tide over the loss of ₹8-10 crore a day,” Bevco managing director H. Venkatesh told The Hindu on Thursday.
So far, Bevco has been able to relocate 55 of the 135 shops that had been closed down following the verdict while the relocation of about 30 outlets is embroiled in disputes with grama panchayats.
“The State government has proposed to take the ordinance route to strip the powers vested with local bodies under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and also amend the rules in the Kerala Abkari Act, ” he said.
A proposal for installing card swiping machines at outlets is in the offing. However, plans to launch online shopping of liquor and mobile retail outlets have been put on hold fearing a backlash from prohibitionists.
“Business was picking up after the demonetisation-induced currency crunch when the apex court order dealt a severe blow,” he said.
Mr. Venkatesh said crowd management at the retail outlets had been the biggest problem in the last few days. “Stretching the timing of the shops from 9.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. has helped only to a certain extent during the festival season. The crowds are manageable till noon. But people swell for buying liquor from 5 p.m, ” he added.
