The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the liquor outlets run by State Government agencies to deal decently with those who purchased booze and to make proper arrangements to avoid long queues in front of the booze shops so that the other people and traders near the outlets did not face difficulties.
Observing that long queues in front of liquor outlets that extended to the roads were creating a situation akin to curb-side sales, the court said arrangements should be made to avoid it. The court reminded the liquor outlets that those who came to buy booze also were customers and they should be treated accordingly.
The liquor outlets were being given the guidelines on how these should be run while allotting licences, the court observed. The concerned authorities should make sure that these guidelines were abided by totally, it said.
The court’s directive and observations came on a petition submitted by a trader in Thrissur who complained that the long queues at a liquor outlet near his establishment were affecting his business. “This is happening at all outlets in Kerala except in places where the outlets are situated in isolated areas,” said a stationery trader in Thrissur.
The retail liquor outlets in Kerala are run by the Government agencies, Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco), the monopoly booze distributor, and Kerala State Cooperative Consumers’ Federation. Together they were running 268 liquor shops of which 82 are lying closed due to the Supreme Court’s ban on booze-vending within 500 meters from highways.
“The court has done some good thinking,” said a customer at a retail liquor outlet near West Fort in Thrissur. “From what I have read in newspapers, the Government is making more than Rs 60 when I buy liquor that is basically worth just Rs 15. Despite that, the Government considers us as dirty fellows and we are made to stand in queues for long hours in rain and shine. “ he said.