Bhubaneswar: After a gap of more than three months, offline or counter sale of liquor is all set to resume in Odisha from tomorrow.
In exercise of power conferred by Section 93 of the Odisha Excise Act 2008, Government hereby allows counter sale of FMFL/IMFL/wine/beer/RTD in the licensed IMFL off and on shops in addition to home delivery of these items from July 1, 2020," stated a notification issued by the State excise department.
The shops which remained closed in view of Covid-19 pandemic will open from tomorrow. However, opening hours of the shops has been rescheduled to avoid evening crowd.
As per the information shared by the excise department, the shops will remain open from 7 am to 6 pm. The online delivery of liquor will also continue as usual.
The ON shops will be allowed to operate as OFF shops for the purpose of counter sale. "This will increase the number of outlets and will thus help in checking overcrowding. 'ON' shop licensees will have to follow MRP and other norms applicable for OFF shops," the excise department said.
Retailers have to ensure that consumers take prior appointment to visit their premises with the help of above facility to avoid overcrowding. The customers have to visit OSBC portal (www.osbc.co.in) under the link "e-token for slot booking". The e-token generated can be downloaded from the link received through SMS in the mobile.
In order to regulate the crowd, the retailers will have to erect barricades wherever required, and also employ additional manpower with specific responsibility to ensure regulation of queue, maintenance of social distancing norm etc. by the customers.
The retailers will have to ensure proper marking on the ground outside their shops to facilitate safe distancing. They will also ensure that all the staff in their shops use face mask.
The excise department further stated that the retailers will not entertain customers who are not using face masks and are violating social distancing norms.
"Local police and excise staff will remain watchful and Collectors are authorised to close the shops in case of violation of above provisions by retailers," the notification added.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
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