Following the announcement by the Central government, about 200 liquor shops across Delhi were given permission to resume operations on Monday, May 4. However, the decision to open liquor shops backfired for the Delhi government, as a large number of consumers stood in queues overcrowding shops. This led to the implementation of a “Special Corona Fee” of 70% on top of retail alcohol prices, which unsurprisingly didn’t make a difference as shops continued to witness long queues.
To maintain social distancing, a new measure was taken. An online portal was launched offering e-tokens for customers to avoid long queues. By applying for an e-token, one can get a time slot to buy liquor from any of the closest shops.
How to apply for liquor e-token:
- To apply for an e-token, customers can head over to https://www.qtoken.in/
- Submit your name and phone number, after which an e-token will be sent to your registered phone number
- Similar tokens will also be issued for customers who are standing in queues
Notably, at the time of writing this piece, the portal is not accessible as there seems to be a server error. While we await clarification, it seems that the Delhi government hasn’t been able to maintain the website, or presumably, there have been too many requests.
It was recently reported that Indian food delivery company Zomato is working on getting permission to deliver alcohol. As of now, there are no legal provisions for home delivery of alcohol in India, something that industry body International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) is lobbying to change in conjunction with Zomato and others.
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