Dedication: Come Hail Or Storm, People In Nainital Didn't Budge From Their Queue To Buy Alcohol

From showering flower petals on customers, bursting fire-crackers and of course, flouting social distancing rules while jostling in serpentine lines, people went berserk after liquor shops opened up across the country.

Twitter/ANI/Praveen Kaswan

But there's one particular video that shows just how determined people were to get their fix of booze. In a video shared by news agency ANI, people were seen guarding themselves with umbrellas amid heavy rainfall on Nainital's Mall Road.

But they made sure to adhere to social distancing as directed by the government by maintaining at least a metre's distance and wearing masks while standing in a queue.

Uttarakhand: Shoppers brave hailstorm to buy liquor at a shop on Mall Road in Nainital today. #CoronavirusLockdown pic.twitter.com/lvU2K1HT2c

¡ª ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2020

The hailstorm was so strong that even the umbrellas were ineffective. Despite this, people stood outside the shops - with or without umbrellas.

Agnipath.. Agnipath.. Agnipath. Outside a liquor shop. Today. Via Whatsapp. pic.twitter.com/sul4F5uIBt

¡ª Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) May 5, 2020

The video was also shared by the Indian Forest Service (IFS) Officer, Parveen Kaswan on Twitter. He captioned it, ¡°Agnipath...Agnipath...Agnipath. Outside a liquor shop. Today via WhatsApp." Kaswan quoted Harivansh Rai Bachchan's iconic poem Agnipath.

In the national capital, many government-run liquor shops had to be shut, as people who gathered outside the outlets, did not follow social distancing norms; in some cases police had to use mild force to disperse the unruly crowd. According to an official, about 150 government-run liquor shops have been allowed to open from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm in the national capital, in accordance with the latest lockdown relaxations given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

A large number of people made a beeline for liquor, in Uttar Pradesh, where 26,000 liquor stores are back in business. Meanwhile, Rajasthan had to close most of the shops where social distancing norms were not being followed. As per the government notification, shops selling liquor have to ensure social distancing and also make sure that not more than five people are present at one time at the shop.

PTI

Liquor shops across Noida and Greater Noida witnessed scores of customers queuing up right from 10:00 am, as the sale of liquor resumed for the first time since the nationwide lockdown came into force on March 25.

The Union Home Ministry in its latest order has stated that the sale of liquor, paan, tobacco be allowed after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing and not over 5 persons should be allowed at one time at any shop. The order also stated that the consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco etc is not allowed in public places during the lockdown. The Ministry of Home Affairs extended lockdown by two weeks from May 4 with certain relaxations.