Puducherry bans sale of liquor after 2 p.m. from April 26 to 30

Chennai: As part of containing the second wave of Covid-19, the Union Territory of Puducherry has banned the sale of all liquor including arrack, toddy and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in bars and toddy shops from 2 p.m. onwards from April 26 to 30.

A circular issued by Deputy Commissioner (Excise) T Sudhakar said that liquor, arrack and toddy shops will remain closed from Friday night till Monday morning when the Union Territory is going for a lockdown.

He said that any violation will be dealt with seriously and action will be taken under the Puducherry Excise Act 1970.

Mahe, which is part of Puducherry and bordering Kannur district of Kerala, has already started preparations to implement the lockdown and the closing down of the liquor shops. The 5 km area of Mahe is home to around 60 liquor shops and excise officials from Kerala are also keeping a vigil on the smuggling of alcohol through the border once the lockdown comes into effect from Friday night upto Monday morning.

M Rakesh Nair, Deputy Superintendent, Kerala excise department and who is in charge of Thalassery area of Kannur district which borders Mahe, told IANS, "Earlier we were vigilant on smuggling of liquor from Mahe to Kerala through this check post but now it will be vice versa and hence strong teams of excise are on vigil at border points in Mahe, Palloor, Pandakkal in Puducherry which shares common areas with Kerala."