Sikkim: Distilleries, liquor shops open after 25 days of COVID-19 lockdown

The state Home Department has notified that under the revised system, the liquor shops will open at 9am close by 4pm.

The distributors and sub-distributors will have to follow have to follow the same timings.

On the first day of relaxation, the customers and salesmen were seen wearing face masks and maintaining social-distance as per government directions for COVID -19 management.

On violation of guidelines, the government will cancel the licence.

Sikkim is one of the ten States in India that allowed liquor shops to function.
The 866 foreign liquor retail shops that opened after 26 days of shut down will supply the liquor from their previous stock.

In order to meet the demand, the distilleries have started to summon their workers.

Most of these workers had left at the very beginning of the lockdown.

The distilleries are trying to get passes for workers in order to bring the workers back to work.

Some of these workers had started working in the Hand Sanitizer manufacturing units as distilleries had turned to produce hand sanitizers amid lockdown.

"The manufacturing had stopped in Distilleries, once lockdown was enforced in Sikkim. Joining the common fight against Coronavirus Pandemic, Distilleries produced Hand Sanitizer in the early phase of the lockdown," said Tshering Namgyal Bhutia, IAS Secretary, Excise (Abkari)

Most of the distilleries initially distributed thousands of bottles of sanitizers to frontline workers like Health workers, Police, Panchayats and public as part of their Social Corporate Responsibility, he stated.

"It is for government use in case of emergency,’ added Tshering Namgyal Bhutia ,IAS Secretary, Excise ( Abkari).

Liquor is available to consumers in the states where Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 has been applied.

Alcohol beverages categorised as Food under the Act have also been allowed to remain open for health reasons, including issues cropping up due to sale of illicit liquor.

While West Bengal has increased prices per bottle, adding 30 per cent sales tax, Sikkim has not.

Loss of revenue from excise has been tolerated so far due to need for social-distancing, under National Disaster Management Act, 2005, to break the chain of Coronavirus infection.