Why Delhi has short supply of premium liquor
Delhiites are forced to visit neighbouring Noida and Gurgaon for their premium liquor purchase, its not only the premium liquor which is in short supply in the capital, even regular cheaper brands are not available in Delhi.Especially in the festive and wedding season when demand is at its peak and all the concerned authorities are aware about it.
How all this mess started, whats the core reason behind it.Is it the incompetency and negligence of government there or something else?.
As part of Delhi government’s new excise policy, which aims to reform excise rules to increase revenue and provide consumers a much better user experience while buying liquor, the city has been divided into 32 zones and licenses have been allotted on a zonal basis.
The transition from the old system to the new saw the private vends closed down from October 1 and only the government vends will remain open till November 17. Sources said that at present, the available stock is being cleared and the vends have not been restocked, leading to the shortage.
“There is a shortage of not only premium brands but any brand that sells,” said Vinod Giri, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies. “The number of shops is anyway reduced, and the government shops don’t have clarity about what would happen to the stock that remains with them when they shut down,” he said.
Giri said that due to the uncertainty over leftover stock, shops had placed conservative orders less than the usual demand. “This is the peak demand time because of the season and they are out of any stock now,” he said, claiming that the scheduling by the excise department has not been appropriately planned with orders taken only till November 3.
Giri said that even from November 17, when the new licensees take over, the supply situation may not improve immediately. “In many cases, prices have not been fixed and the supply chain will not kick in immediately. The shortage will not remain only till November 16 but might extend a little. The switch over has not been as smooth as envisaged,” he said.
