So long were the queues in front of liquor shops on the first day that the government allowed them to open that police had to resort to baton charges even before the shops opened.
After a long dry spell, booze shops finally opened on Monday and tipplers had started forming queues from the morning itself. The shops finally opened at 3pm but before that police resorted to mild baton charges to prevent crowding.
One hub was the City Centre area around which three shops opened — Silver Sands Bar and Restaurant opposite the petrol pump, Farina Bar and Restaurant on the other side opposite the petrol pump, and on the ground floor of Hotel Aayash, opposite De Sovrani hotel.
Suman Bhattacharya, a sub-inspector of the Bidhannagar North police station who was posted at the stretch covering these three shops, said they faced an uphill task ensuring social distancing. “Most of the people are standing close to each other. I had to ask several of them to either wear masks or stand well apart in the queues,” he said.
An elderly man was overheard advising youths in the queue to stand apart for good reason. “Else neither you nor I will get a bottle,” he said.
From Tuesday, the shops started opening at noon and shutting at 6pm but the size of the crowds only swelled further.
“The queues got so long that we had to start checking ID proofs of those in line,” said Bhattacharya. “This was to prevent outsiders.
Tarit Kumar Dutta, an employee of Silver Sands, said he had never seen such long queues. “I have been manning the counter here for years and have never seen anything like this before. Most people are confused about the additional 30 per cent being charged as state tax while several are miffed that we are giving out only two bottles per person as per the directives of the government,” said Dutta.