Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday that the ban on the sale of liquor would continue for now. When pressed on the subject, Mr. Vijayan said: “Do not be perturbed. The government would decide soon”.
Kerala has one of the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the country. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac had said bootleggers and illicit supply networks had stepped into the void created by the clampdown on liquor sale.
‘Social disaster’
He said a “social disaster” was in the offing if the ban continued and that people were buying alcohol of dubious provenance at an exaggerated rate. Hence, officials said the government might take a call on allowing the sale of liquor solely through State-run outlets before the third phase of the COVID-19 lockdown ended on May 17.
The Centre had banned the sale of home delivery of liquor as per the lockdown guidelines issued on April 15. However, as per the revised guidelines issued on Friday for the third phase, the Centre had allowed the sale of liquor in urban localities. However, the ban on the on-premise sale of liquor in bars continued.
Officials said the scope for resuming the legal sale of alcohol had increased in the third phase and the government had the liberty to decide the timetable for opening Bevco outlets.
