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In a first, liquor vends to stay open in Delhi on Holi
Noida will observe a dry day on March 4.
This will be the first time that liquor shops will remain open on Holi in Delhi. (Source: File)
This Holi, booze lovers in Delhi need not run to Gurgaon or Noida to stock up on alcohol, as all 810 liquor vends across the Capital will remain open on Wednesday.
This will be the first time that liquor shops will remain open on Holi in Delhi. Earlier, dry days were observed on restricted holidays, including Holi.
The reason: The move is set to help the Excise department recover the revenue it was losing out to neighbouring cities, a senior official said. Also, it will help curb sale of illegal liquor, which can lead to health risks, he added.
“The decision has been taken keeping in mind the health of the people and also to curb the illegal supply of liquor. It has been observed that smuggling cases and sale of liquor in black areas increase around Holi. When shops are not open, people turn to illegal suppliers and at times, also consume spurious liquors and fall sick…So, to curb smuggling and illegal sale of liquor, the department has removed Holi from the dry day list. We also want to ensure that people consume authentic alcohol from government-run shops…,” the official said.
“This will also help the government recover the revenue it was losing out to cities like Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad,” the official added.
The liquor shops will remain open as per usual timings – from 10 am to 10 pm.
According to a quarterly list of dry days issued by the Excise department until March, Republic Day, Maha Shivratri, Eid-ul-Fitr, Ram Navami and Mahir Jayanti will be observed as dry days in Delhi.
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Meanwhile, if Delhiites want to escape long queues at liquor vends, they can download the app ‘e-abgari’, and pre-book their alcohol at any of the vends and then pick up the same, said the official.
Not only Delhi, Gurgaon will also see liquor shops open on Holi. “Not a dry day anywhere in Haryana tomorrow,” said Jitender Dudi, Deputy Taxation and Excise Commissioner (Gurgaon West).
However, Noida will observe a dry day on March 4.
The AAP, meanwhile, accused the BJP government in Delhi of indulging in “real liquor scam”. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia posted on X: “The real liquor scam in Delhi has now begun. By keeping liquor shops open even on Holi, the Delhi government has given open permission to earn crores of rupees on a festival day. Does even a single ED or CBI officer have the courage to ask questions about this scam?”
AAP’s Delhi chief, Saurabh Bharadwaj, also posted on X: “You may recall how the BJP-led central government created chaos in Delhi in the name of liquor… They lied at every step to defame the AAP government and trapped us in false cases. But now there is a BJP government in Delhi, and in the name of liquor, their true values have come before everyone. They are neither Sanatani nor patriots. They are merely an uneducated group hungry for power.”
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