Kerala releases guidelines on liquor sales.

The Kerala Government has come out with a set of guidelines regarding.the sale of liquor in the state when the outlets reopen after being shut.for about two months due to the COVID-19 lockdown.According to the state’s directives, the sale of liquor will only be made on the basis of virtual bookings made through a a newly developed mobile application christened BevQ. The move aims at reducing crowding at the outlets.

Along with the outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) will be sold through special counters in bars also.Customers who place orders through the virtual queue app will receive a token with a QR code on their mobile phone. The bar licensee has to verify this e-token with another app and sell the liquor to the customer.

Another stipulation states that a person can buy liquor only once in four days. It is also directed that people waiting in queue should maintain a distance of six feet. All customers would be checked with a thermal scanner and people showing symptoms of disease would not be sold liquor. Moreover, the number of persons in a queue will be limited to five.

Only three litres of liquor would be sold at a time to a customer to the maximum, that too as parcel. All conditions in the Abkari Act would also be followed while making the sale.