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| A liquor shop on Frazer Road. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey |
Liquor traders are expecting a bumper sale on Sunday. They believe the JD(U) supporters would love a swig after listening to chief minister Nitish Kumar at Adhikar Rally.
Based on experience, the common perception is liquor would flow after the rally. More so, as Nitish has put an embargo on any kind of entertainment.
Setting sights on hordes of Dal supporters expected to throng the city for the congregation, the liquor shops of the state capital have started stocking alcohol for the D-day. “Adhikar Rally, it seems, would be huge. With lakhs expected in the state capital on Sunday, we are stocking alcohol in a large volume. Any customer coming in will not go empty-handed,” a representative of a retail liquor shop at Raja Bazar told The Telegraph.
According to the excise rules in the state, each retailer has to pick up at least 615 cases of foreign liquor in a month.
“Of them, 25 per cent has to be collected from the depot in the first week. It means a retailer has to pick up at least 153 cases of liquor in the first week of a month. Some retailers have the stock of the last month. Yet, they are picking up more than the mandatory 25 per cent of the monthly quota before Sunday. I have already picked up 200 cases of liquor of different brands to ensure there is no shortage of alcohol on the rally day,” a representative of a shop in the Boring Road area said.
The retailers also appeared aware of the taste of the people expected in the city on Sunday. Most of them claimed that semi-premium brands would sale like hot cakes.
“Semi-premium rum and whisky would be off the shelves faster. As the winter has set in, beer would not be in demand. However, we are not taking any chances and stocking beer as well,” the owner of another shop said.
Police appear to be aware of the situation. “All the liquor shops will close by 10pm. The police will also keep a tab on the trouble-mongers to ensure the law and order is maintained,” a senior police officer told The Telegraph.
