Keralites who have problems in being seen queuing up in front of retail liquor outlets to buy their bottles are likely to get some relief: The State-controlled Cooperative Consumers Federation (Consumerfed) is planning to introduce online booking for booze being sold through its retail outlets from this year's Onam festival, which falls on the second week of September.
According to Consumerfed Chairman M Mehboob, the federation will sell 59 costly booze brands through online booking from this Onam in order to help those who do not want to be seen queuing up before its 36 retail liquor outlets. The official announcement of the initiative would come in the next few days, Mehboob told newsmen on Thursday.
The Consumerfed's plan is seen as part of the CPI(M)-led lDF Government's determined move to bring in vast changes to the pro-prohibition liquor policy the State is currently following. The policy was introduced by the former Congress-led UDF Government in 2014 by which all bars were closed and ten per cent of the retail outlets were to be shut down every year.
“People may have problems standing in long queues in front of the retail outlets. The online booze-booking system will be of immense help to them,” said Mehboob, adding that only premium brands would be supplied through the system.
Consumers will have to reach the retail outlets with the bills they get while booking booze online and they can collect their bottles at the specially-opened counters at the outlets. Mehboob said the problem of having to stand in queues could be avoided in this manner and hoped that the system would lead to an increase in sales at the Consumerfed shops.
A senior bank officer of Kochi said he welcomed the Consumerfed move and added that he had to almost give up drinking after bars were closed down as part of the previous Government's liquor policy. “I will be only happy to use the online facility if the reports about it are true,” he said.
Mehboob also indicated that Consumerfed was prepared to open liquor super markets in the big cities of the State if the Government sanctioned it. It has already been reported that the Government is considering opening liquor outlets in leading shopping malls and shopping complexes in the State.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister AC Moideen reiterated his demand for changes in the liquor policy. “I am not saying that liquor should flow all over the State. But my demand is that liquor should be made available in bars in tourism destinations. Changes in the liquor policy are inevitable for attracting tourists into Kerala,” he said in Thiruvananthapuram.
“The current liquor policy has already affected the tourism and several commercial institutions. (The non-availability of liquor) has led to the postponement of many conferences and this is causing huge losses,” Moideen said, adding that the issue had already been brought to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Excise Minister.
Responding to Moideen's demand, Excise Minister TP Ramakrishnan said the stand of the Government on the liquor policy would be in favour of the tourism sector. “The Government will take a practical approach in this matter. It will also study how the current liquor policy has affected the tourism sector,” Ramakrishnan added.
But State Congress president VM Sudheeran vehemently opposed the demand of Moideen and others for changes in the liquor policy by saying that the left's current move was part of its efforts to put into practice the understanding it had reached with the bar owners before the May 16 Assembly election.
Sudheeran said in Delhi that it was wrong to say that availability of liquor was necessary for attracting tourists. “Are the tourists coming to Kerala to boozeIJ” he asked. Stating that tourists who wanted to buy booze still had the avenues for that in Kerala, he said such arguments were intended to sabotage the liquor policy.