Three days after liquor shops opened in the country in a phased manner, citizens of Hyderabad queued up to buy at dozens of outlets across the city.
“I came here at 8 a.m. it is nearly two months since I drank. I saved money for this,” said Ram, who owns a welding workshop. He was the first in the queue of 51 persons at Trishakti Wines in the Attapur area.
The shops opened at 10 a.m. and had marked out circles to ensure physical distancing between buyers. The shops also put out posters ‘No mask, no liquor’ as announced by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday.
While the police officials ensured physical distancing norms, with an occasional whack of the cane, the queues spilling into residential areas. Smiling passersby stopped to watch and often click photographs with their cellphones of the row of men standing in line.
One of the first to lay his hands on the bottles was Yadiah Goud, who sells fodder for animals. “I came at 7.30 a.m. and I bought this for ₹1480,” he said pointing to two bottles he was carrying in a bag. “The shop is fully stocked. There is no need to worry,” he told other tipplers waiting in the queue outside Lucky Wines before driving away.
