Liquor shops in Mohali wear a deserted look, even six weeks after being opened
While the opening of liquor vends in Chandigarh and other parts of the country from May 4 made headlines, Mohali vends remained deserted despite opening after six weeks on Thursday. As per the report, the liquor contractors have blamed the UT administration for this. They said that people had already smuggled liquor from Chandigarh into Mohali in the absence of checks at borders.
Reportedly, around 140 liquor vends in the district remained open from 7 am to 3 pm, but no major sales were reported, unlike Chandigarh. JP Singh, general manager of the Turtle Group owning 15 liquor vends, said that “We have suffered a huge loss because of the lockdown."
He blamed the Chandigarh authorities for opening the vends earlier on May 4 and collecting around Rs 20 crore a day. Meanwhile, the Mohali residents have been getting liquor from Chandigarh and no checks were being carried out at the borders, he added.
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Likewise, another liquor contractor said, that though the rates are more or less comparable with Chandigarh, the Punjab government should not have allowed the home delivery. "We should have been given some relief as many migrant workers, our main customers for country liquor have left the city," he added.
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On Wednesday, the deputy commissioner of Mohali, Girish Dayalan said that the vends could open from 7 am to 3 pm, but no shop would be open in the containment areas of Jawaharpur village in Derabassi and Nayagaon.
-PTC News
