Liquor and Cigarrettes during lock-down
Alcoholics in Kerala have something to cheer about. The Kerala government is planning to supply minimum liquor to heavy alcoholics as per doctor's prescription during the nationwide lockdown in view of the rising cases of coronavirus.
The development came after five people in Kerala committed suicide and more than 25 persons were admitted in de-addiction centres after they could not source liquor following the lockdown.
While briefing the media, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government is planning to provide minimum liquor to heavy alcoholics with withdrawal symptoms to avoid suicides.
"The state government has directed the excise department to suggest modalities to provide liquor to heavy alcoholics during the lockdown period," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The state has around 1.6 million alcoholics who consume liquor on a regular basis. Among them, 45 per cent are heavy alcoholics with withdrawal symptoms.
Earlier, psychiatrists and social scientists had warned the government about the crisis when the Opposition and Indian Medical Association demanded the closure of all the liquor outlets in the state. more
The development came after five people in Kerala committed suicide and more than 25 persons were admitted in de-addiction centres after they could not source liquor following the lockdown.
While briefing the media, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government is planning to provide minimum liquor to heavy alcoholics with withdrawal symptoms to avoid suicides.
"The state government has directed the excise department to suggest modalities to provide liquor to heavy alcoholics during the lockdown period," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The state has around 1.6 million alcoholics who consume liquor on a regular basis. Among them, 45 per cent are heavy alcoholics with withdrawal symptoms.
Earlier, psychiatrists and social scientists had warned the government about the crisis when the Opposition and Indian Medical Association demanded the closure of all the liquor outlets in the state. more
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Bengal Govt has gone above all and allowed online ordering and home delivery of liquor. Ridiculous!! more
Apr 16
Why states want to open liquor shops in a lockdown Where’s the money? More than praise for dealing with the pandemic, states need financial assistance, Kerala’s finance minister Thomas Isaac said on Tuesday. “When we approach banks for loans, the interest rate is 9% … most states have limited the borrowing to Rs 500-1,000 crore and started cutting salaries or halting other developmental activities,” he said. Last week, Kerala had to offer 8.96% interest rate for Rs 6,000 crore market borrowing for a 15-year period. That’s more expensive than home loans for a Rs 60 lakh loan. In liquor? Taxes from alcohol sales roughly form a quarter of state revenues. At a time when the pandemic has put a strain on state finances and GST collection has been low (while the Centre has been slow to compensate states for the shortfall), loss of this revenue source has had a big impact. While the rise in the sale of illicit liquor and medical reasons have also been cited as reasons behind opening of liquor shops, the bigger reason is revenue. Delhi earns Rs 5,000 crore from liquor sales every year and closing all shops for a month means a revenue loss of around Rs 500 crore. In Karnataka, liquor sales accounted for Rs 21,400 crore in 2019-20. In some states liquor is the second or third biggest contributor of tax revenue. Let it flow: Liquor shops lifted shutters in Assam and Meghalaya on Monday and Delhi, West Bengal and Karnataka are among the states thinking of partial loosening of the cap. Uttar Pradesh and Goa have issued permission to distilleries to start functioning from later this week. West Bengal’s state beverage corporation (Bevco), which controls wholesale liquor trade in the state started functioning last week. How: As per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, alcoholic beverages fall under the definition of food, which is an exempted item under the lockdown. Hence, some reports say that state governments may not need the Centre’s approval for opening liquor shops. While the two northeastern states have allowed liquor shops to do business on select days for a limited number of hours, some like West Bengal seem inclined to allow home delivery of alcoholic beverages. more
Apr 15
