The visuals of customers standing in serpentine queues in some cities after liquor shops opened last month amid the lockdown are harder to spot in Jharkhand, where stores lifted shutters on May 20.

Liquor shops in the state are waiting for the sales to pick up. “Sales are very disappointing, just around 40 per cent of what it had been earlier,” said Arvind Rajgarhia, who runs a licenced liquor shop near Albert Ekka Chowk, the nerve centre of Ranchi. “Those who would buy in a hurry are now coming at their convenience,” he said, when asked if there was any improvement in sales after the administration extended the closing time from 7pm to 9pm from Tuesday.

“The situation is similar across the state,” said Brij Mohan Singh, who owns a liquor outlet in Deoghar town, adding the prolonged lockdown resulting in loss of income had reduced the purchasing power of customers.

“Not only that, the prices of all brands have gone up following the increase in VAT (value-added tax) and introduction of an additional excise cess on the MRP (maximum retail price),” said Subodh Jaiswal, secretary, Jharkhand Khudra Sharab Vikreta Sangh. The association has about 1,400 retail liquor sellers, who help the state earn revenue of around Rs 1,500 crore.

He said the licenced shop owners have to buy at a higher rate and the buyers also have to pay at least 22 per cent more than earlier, adding they have a fixed margin of 12 per cent of the cost.

“We expect the sales will pick up a bit after the hotels start operation in the state on June 8,” said Achintya Shaw, the association’s president.

He was, however, doubtful if the sales would pick up satisfactorily in the months to come. Asked about one of the reasons for low liquor sales, he said, “This is a marriage season but they have been postponed and no gatherings are being organised either due to the pandemic.”

People also do not consume alcohol during the month of Shravan (that will begin on July 6), Navaratri (in September) and around Chhath (in November), he added. “But we have to pay the same amount fixed by the government every month,” Shaw said, adding they have already written to the excise department requesting for waiver of the norm.

“There’s a downward trend in sale of liquor across the country and we are keeping a watch on that in Jharkhand,” said Vinay Kumar Choubey, principal secretary, excise, adding they would take a call on relaxing mandatory payment of the “minimum guaranteed duty” after monitoring sales for a fortnight.

The rush was seen in some cities for a day or two, perhaps because only about 10 per cent of the shops had opened after 59 days, he pointed out.