475,000 liquor e-tokens issued, fail to keep crowds from stores
172 STORES Rush on website forces authorities to clarify those without e-tokens can also buy liquor
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has issued 475,000 e-tokens since Thursday evening for the sale of liquor at 172 outlets across Delhi. Stores, however, continued to attract heavy crowds, with a number of people saying they were unable to access the web link — www.qtoken.in — launched by the government to ensure social distancing norms are maintained during the sale.
The huge rush also forced the excise department to issue a fresh order Friday night, clarifying that even those who do not have e-tokens will be allowed to purchase alcohol from the vends.
On Friday, at many places across the city, people who stood in queue for hours were not sold liquor because they did not have the electronic token.
The e-token system was introduced after reports of massive crowds gathering outside vends, violating the social distancing norms set by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Delhi has 864 liquor shops, of which only 172 have received permission to reopen so far, as they are ‘stand-alone shops’— which means they are not located in markets, malls and commercial spaces, which the central government guidelines prohibit in red zone districts.
The sale of liquor is allowed from 9 am to 6:30pm and the government is issuing 50 tokens in one-hour slots.
Scores complained that the webpage was showing ‘server error (500)’. For those who managed to get through the website, there was still no luck as the message - ‘Sorry. Could not find any open slots at this shop. Please try some other shop’ stared back from their mobile screens.
“I tried 13 stores mentioned in the drop box, but got the same message for all. I put an alarm for 3am to wake up and try, and then finally I managed to get a slot for Saturday at the shop on the Ghazipur main road in east Delhi. I did not know that the Delhi government also allots a time slot in the token. My slot was between 10:30am and 11am,” said Manpreet Baweja, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase III.
On Saturday, almost all shops also introduced paper token systems for those not having e-tokens. “We have deployed a marshal as well. The paper token system helps in case the queues break for some reason. It prevents tussles,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
People willing to get e-token can apply through a web link www.qtoken.in where they are required to fill personal details such as an ID card option, the number of the ID card, name, phone number and then choose from the dropbox the available liquor vends.
Once the token is issued, the person needs to visit the selected vend at the given time slot. The barcode in the token is only for verification purpose and not for direct purchase of liquor online. One will have to physically go to the store, choose the alcohol and pay the money at the store.
The Delhi government is also working on setting up another web page—and deliberating on creating a mobile phone application—to enable home delivery of liquor in the Capital, as a measure to reduce the massive crowds outside the limited number of reopened liquor shops. At many places across the city earlier this week, police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the gathering outside vends.
“We are drafting a standard operating protocol. So far, the excise department has had three meetings on this with the chief secretary and at least one with the finance minister (Manish Sisodia),” a senior government official said on Friday.
Late on Friday evening, the state excise department also issued an order informing the Delhi Police and all district administrators that “two separate queues at each vend should be maintained”. One, for those with e-tokens and the other for customers without e-tokens.
“It is directed to ensure that shops not having token system should also operate and that no person without e-token be denied liquor for the reason of not having e-token. However, preference to the persons having e-tokens must be given by forming separate queues,” the order issued by deputy commissioner (excise) Sandeep Mishra stated.
AT MANY PLACES THIS WEEK, COPS RESORTED TO LATHICHARGE TO DISPERSE CROWDS OUTSIDE LIQUOR VENDS