The government-run liquor shops, opened on September 1 under the new excise policy, are still struggling to meet the demand of the tipplers due to the shortage of liquor brands at their shops.
Following the shortage of brands and still trucks being unloaded at the several vends across the city, the booze lover is returning back empty-handed, with disappointment on their faces.
A tippler said that there are only cheap brands available and that too limited, making it impossible to buy these liquor bottles. The old excise policy means that the rates of the liquor bottle were again hiked, and all the discounts and schemes were also not available on the purchase. The liquor vend owners were uncertain about the supply of the liquor and were sitting ideal as the brands are short, due to which they were unable to meet the demand of the customers. The shelves of the government-run liquor vends were empty also on the second consecutive day, the only brands available were Royal Green, White and Blue, Oak and Glow, etc. A liquor store owner in the east Delhi district said that the supply is minimal, the brands are short, and they are not able to meet the demands of the customers. We have set a particular quantity on a per person basis so that most of the customers get the liquor. Ravi Arya, a booze lover said that only cheap brands are available at the liquor stores.
I came to buy the carton of the black dog, but the brand is not available and the alternate brands are also not in stock. They are also selling a particular amount to each customer. I hope the situation soon gets normal in the city.
According to the Director General, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) Vinod Giri, by end of this month the number of outlets will go up to 500.We expect availability to start settling down over the next couple of weeks. It is another matter if 500-550 outlets are enough to serve a city of this size or not.