Booze lovers braced up for liquor rationing and long queues at alcohol shops in the state from August 1. The reason: Jharkhand State Beverage Corporation Limited (JSBCL) has taken over the retail business of liquor with 200 shops across the state from August 1. Currently, there are 1,500 liquor shops selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer in the state.
The JSBCL has also decided to strictly implement the liquor policy, which restricts the quantity of liquor sold to a person in a day. August 1 onwards, a person can buy only four bottles (3 litres) of IMFL in a day. For beer, the restriction is eight bottles (5.2 litres) a day. The limit for country liquor is merely two bottles (1.2 litres) for a person in a day.
“From August 1, liquor is e sold only from JSBCL authorised stores in Jharkhand. In first phase, we are opening 200 stores that will be increased in future with availability of manpower,” said JSBCL managing director Vinod Shankar Sharma.
The Jharkhand cabinet, in February this year, had approved an excise and prohibition department’s proposal, paving the way for the JSBCL to control the retail business of IMFL and beer from August 1, 2017.