Thousands of people queued up outside liquor shops on Monday morning in anticipation that the dry spell caused by the lockdown would finally come to an end.
By mid-afternoon, the confirmation came that most of them were indeed opening.
Sources said the three issues that prompted the government to allow reopening of liquor shops, except the ones in containment zones, were revenue, pent-up demand and prevention of smuggling from other states.
A lowdown of what happened across the city on Monday and what to expect from Tuesday.
Delayed start
A list of shops that will function has to be provided to the local administration and police by the superintendent of excise so adequate security and crowd-control measures could be taken.
The majority of the stores took time to prepare before raising their shutters six weeks after the lockdown had been announced. People, however, were spotted roaming around restlessly in front of the shops with closed shutters. From Rashbehari Avenue to Behala Manton — the scene was the same.
A cop was seen chasing a group of men from in front of a liquor shop on Rashbehari Avenue in the morning.
Preparation
From afternoon, the police started “preparing” for the shops to reopen. “We have put up guardrails to maintain the queue and drawn circles so that people stand at a safe distance among themselves,” said an officer of Gariahat police station.
By afternoon, hundreds of people started coming out of their homes to stand in queues in front of liquor shops. An elderly man was heard telling his younger queue-mates: “Thik kore dara, nahole bondho kore debe. Tokhon keu pabo na (Stand properly, or else they will close the shop and none of us will get anything)’.”
Wait and watch
While many shops opened on Monday, many more decided to be cautious and wait for a piece of official paper. “We were eagerly waiting for an official confirmation. Our staff have been asked to report on Tuesday,” said a retailer.
Helmet as ‘mask’
Thousands of people stood for hours to buy their poison but many seemed wary of being spotted in front of liquor shops. “Seven shops have opened in my area. In front of all there were men wearing helmets. I suspect they did not want to be seen in a queue for liquor,” said an officer of Sonarpur police station.
Police watch
In most places, police stood near the liquor shops to ensure the buyers stood in a queue. At some places, cops stood in the queues to ensure that people did not join the line after a certain time.
“Once people got the message, the officers who were standing at the end of the queues withdrew. We had strict instructions that the stores must close by 7pm,” said an officer of Bowbazar police station.
No mask, no liquor
The government has ordered that buyers without masks would not be sold liquor. Not all shops followed it on day one.
Policespeak
Several officers said they had not seen so many people on the roads since the lockdown started as they did on Monday.
“It will be difficult to scan the body temperature of every person stepping out to buy liquor with a thermal gun, ensure the use of hand sanitiser at the stores and enforce social distancing,” an officer said.