Team News Riveting
Raipur, May 10
Even as Chhattisgarh reels under severe crises to combat the contagious COVID-19, the boozers have reason to heave a sigh of relief.
For, the state government facilitated the delivery of liquor at their doorstep. Only effort they need to do is click the mouse and order the moonshine online.
“The decision to start the sale of liquor on-line was taken following a few cases of death reported in the state after people consumed spurious liquor,” Chhattisgarh’s excise minister Kawasi Lakhma said. Even liquor was smuggled from the adjoining states, he added.
The department had developed a portal through which customers could place an order online subject to terms and conditions.
While a month had passed since a major part of Chhattisgarh had been under lockdown, the desperation for a sip had made people mad. About a dozen lives were lost after consuming spurious spirit following scarcity. Even the state exchequer was incurring a heavy loss of revenue.
The state government feared that more people could fall ill after consuming illicit alcohol if the supply was not restored. In the given condition, the online order and home delivery were the only available option with the government.
Meanwhile, liquor lovers thronged online to place the order on the first day resulting in the server crash.
The service had come under sharp criticism of opposition parties that castigated the state government for doing business when its time to battle COVID-19.
