'Let the daaru flow'

Demand wine shop owners, seeking extension of deadline of liquor joints for Holi

Liquor will flow keeping pace with fountains of colours this Holi, if the Maharashtra Wine Merchants Association (MWMA) has its way.


If the deadline is extended, revellers can buy their alcohol without any worry

The association is seeking extension of deadline for operating booze joints in the city till midnight on Saturday.

Drooling over the possibility of turning Holi eve into an opportunity of earning loads of liquid cash, literally, the liquor shop dealers have approached Maharashtra State Excise Department to extend the deadline to sell liquor till 12 am, one and a half hours more than the existing deadline of 10.30 pm.

According to excise laws, state government has the discretionary power to permit extension and/or of shutting down liquor shops or bars on special occasions.

"When the government can permit extension of deadline for another occasion, why can't it apply the same just a day prior to Holi?

As the government is well aware that on the day of Holi we are left with no business as boozing part of the celebration gets over by afternoon, leaving no business for us in the evening," said retailer Sanjeev Arora, who owns a wine shop in Bhandup.

Unlike in many other states, Holi is not a dry day in Maharashtra.

Liquor traders grumble that Holi may not be an official Dry Day, but it is a dull day for wine shops as tipplers tend to start celebrating the festival a day before it actually starts.

Citing the losses incurred by the traders, representatives from MWMA have written to excise department asking for an extension of deadline to keep the shops open for one and a half hours more than the permissible time on the Holi eve.

Dilip J Giyanani, vice president MWMA said, "We are permitted to keep our shops open till 10.30 pm. But we have sought permission for the extension of the same till 12 am on the eve of Holi.

We have not yet received any response from the excise department, so we are planning to meet the excise commissioner today."

Another trader from Vile Parle said that many tipplers assume that Holi is a dry day and hence they don't turn up.

They prefer stocking up their supply of liquor a day prior to the festival. "If the government extends the deadline, it will not only boost our business but it will also bring some revenue to the state coffers," he said.
Tipplers reverberate:

"We agree with the liquor shop owners. As people usually start playing Holi in the morning and the boozing part of the celebration is over by afternoon, they are least interested in going to wine shops in the evening.
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Most people buy their supply of liquor a day before, so if the deadline is extended, they can buy their bottles for Holi while returning from office," said Manoj Ramchandani, a resident of Santacruz.

Satish Shetty, a BPO executive, said, "In fact, government should extend the deadline for wine shop till 12 am forever. Since we work odd hours, we need some soft of refreshment when we come out exhausted from office.
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But there are no bars or liquor outlets open at that time. We will be more than happy if wine shops are open late in the night," said Satish Shetty, a BPO executive.

The Other Side
A senior official from state excise department said, "We are yet to get the nod from the state excise ministry. The decision might come later in the afternoon today."

Closing time:
Wine shops: 10.30 pm
Bar & permit room: 1.30 pm