Delhi govt allows hotels, restaurants to serve liquor after a five months

NEW DELHI, Aug 20, 2020, India Today. After a period of five months, the Delhi government has allowed hotels and restaurants to serve liquor in the national capital. This permission has been granted only to units who hold a valid licence to serve liquor, India Today reported.

However, as per the Unlock 3 guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry, bars are not allowed to operate at present. The permission to serve liquor was withdrawn in the wake of mounting coronavirus cases in Delhi.

On June 12, the Delhi government had allowed restro-bars, hotels and clubs to sell their stock of beer, that was expiring immediately, to liquor shops. The government had said this was aimed at minimising their loss.

There are around 950 hotels, clubs and restro-bars in the national capital that have an excise license. However, they have not been allowed to open since March 25 when the first nationwide lockdown was announced.

Earlier on May 4, the Delhi government had allowed standalone government-run liquor shops to open. By May 22, private liquor shops including those in markets too were allowed to operate.

Four government agencies- Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation and Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store- operate the state-run shops in the city.

(With inputs from agencies)