Liquor shops in Kerala to reopen from May 28

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], May 27 (ANI): Liquor shops will re-open from 9 am on Thursday in Kerala, however, booking tokens online is mandatory for the purchase of liquor, Minister for Excise and Labour T.P. Ramakrishnan said on Wednesday.
The minister said that places that sell foreign liquor attract a large number of people.
"To avoid such a situation, a mobile application has been launched to book tokens online. The application will be available on the play store. People can also book tokens via SMS," he added.
Some safety protocols have also been put in place.
"A person can make a booking once in four days from 6 am to 10 pm. The shops would be operational from 9 am to 5 pm. Besides these, nobody can purchase liquor without virtual booking tokens. At a time, only five people could be present in an outlet," he said.
However, the state government has no plans to implement online delivery for liquor.
"Kerala Startup Mission, the central agency, examined all 29 applications and narrowed down five companies. An expert committee further examined these select companies, and chose 'Faircode Technology'. The government also accounted for the technical and financial bid of the companies during selection," said the Excise Minister.
The central agency works in tandem with the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
"Kerala has abided by the lockdown guidelines. Due to which, we had re-started the toddy sale from May 13. About 25,000 toddy shops have been opened, and the remaining ones will be operational as per the availability of toddy," the minister said.
Kerala has recorded 963 confirmed cases so far, as per the Union Health Ministry. (ANI)