Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that nearly 4,000 toddy shops across the State would open for business on May 13.
The government would not move down the path of prohibition. It would permit the resumption of sale of legal liquor at an optimal date. When pressed that Chhattisgarh had allowed the online sale and home delivery of liquor, Mr. Vijayan said all options were on the table. There was no cause for apprehension.
The State could ill afford to accommodate tight lines in front of liquor outlets as witnessed in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. He said toddy tappers had prepared palms for harvesting the sap. By May 13, toddy production would reach pre-COVID-19 levels and the traditional sector could ill afford to dump the harvest.
The Chief Minister did not state whether the government had allowed on-premise consumption of toddy and dine-in facility in toddy shops. The liquor policy is a politically touchy subject in the State and the Congress had argued against opening liquor shops when pandemic conditions persisted. Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran had accused the government of trading off public safety for political patronage of the potent liquor lobby. He had also opposed the purported move to deliver liquor to homes.
However, the government had said that an inordinate delay in resuming the sale of legal liquor would cause bootleggers to step into the void and establish illicit supply lines. It would motivate people to brew hooch in homes.
Students
Mr. Vijayan said an estimated 1,200 students were stranded in New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The government has urged the Centre to operate special trains for them from New Delhi.
