Kolkata woke up to long queues outside liquor shops on Friday morning, as outlets reopened after a 96-hour election-related ban on alcohol sales.
Customers began lining up as early as 8am, well before the shutters opened at 10am, following restrictions imposed ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
At several outlets across the city, buyers said they had planned their day around the reopening. “I have taken a sick day at the office to buy alcohol,” said a customer waiting outside a Spencer’s outlet in Belgharia.
Another buyer at an FL shop on Neelgunj Road in Belgharia said, “I have been standing in line since 10am.”
A limit of two bottles per person was enforced on purchases across stores by the excise department.
Shopkeepers cited government directives aimed at preventing hoarding and black marketing. “No one is being given more than two bottles, so that the black marketing of liquor can be stopped. The instructions have come from the excise department,” said an FL shopkeeper at Chandni Chowk.
Another shopkeeper on Bentinck Street added, “We have been instructed by the government not to sell more than two bottles to an individual, be it any liquor.”
The prolonged closure appeared to have taken a toll on some customers. “I am experiencing nervous shaking in my hands because the liquor shops have been closed for 96 hours,” said a man in line in south Kolkata.
Owners and shopkeepers informed My Kolkata of brisk business through the morning. “The customers are happy, we are happy. Sales have been up since we opened shop this morning,” said an owner of an FL shop in central Kolkata.
However, supply remains tight. Stocks are limited as no fresh consignments have been allowed, with the excise department directing that no new stock be added till counting day — May 4. Shops will remain open till 10pm on Friday and till 6pm on Saturday. Online deliveries remained unserviceable in Kolkata on Friday.
The phased dry days were part of election protocols to ensure free and fair polling across the state, though there is still confusion about exactly who enforced and announced the 96-hour ban.