Vijayawada: It was the moment tipplers in Andhra Pradesh seemed to be waiting for more than 40 days, as they queued up in hundreds as soon as the liquor shops opened in the state on Monday.
Long queues were seen at retail liquor outlets at many places across the state while police had a tough time in controlling the crowd and ensuring social distancing norms.
The customers lined up outside the shops long before they opened at 11 am.
Serpentine queues were seen at liquor shops in Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, Anantapur and other districts. At many places, buyers flouted social distancing norms.
The retail alcohol outlets have been allowed to open up in both rural and urban areas, including in the red zones, from 11 am to 7 pm. However, outlets in containment clusters/zones, and those situated in malls, will not be permitted to reopen, officials said.
The state government, which runs the retail liquor business, has increased the prices by 25 per cent. However, this has failed to deter the tipplers, who turned out in large numbers at almost every shop.
There was chaos at shops as the increased prices were not updated online, resulting in delay in sale transactions.
At a village in Nellore district, women forced the closure of liquor shops. Fearing that large gathering may lead to spread of coronavirus, they pressured the authorities to shut the outlet.
The Prohibition and Excise Department has issued guidelines for the sale of liquor at the retail outlets run by state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL).
It has directed all the outlets to follow social distancing. The sale personnel have been asked to wear face masks and keep sanitisers for use in the shops.
The guidelines say that not more than five customers should be allowed in at a time. For this, there will be five circles drawn in front of the liquor shop with six feet distance between two circles.
The shops have been asked to display social distancing guidelines/norms and cause them to be enforced strictly.
The reopening of liquor shops has come under criticism from main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
TDP state chief Kala Venkat Rao said instead of opening liquor shops, the government should open canteens to provide free food to the people going hungry because of the lockdown.
"The government is treating liquor shops as if they are medical shops," he said.
The liquor shops were reopened even as Andhra Pradesh continued to report a high number of Covid-19 cases every day. It registered 67 new cases during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 1,650.