Jamshedpur, May 21: Though liquor sale has started from all retail outlets in the city and the East Singhbhum district however, it will take some time to have the liquor bottles delivered at doorstep. An official of Excise Department said that as per the notification of the state government sale of liquor began at all the 118 retail outlets but home delivery is yet to kick from steel city.
�We have started sale of liquor from counters of all the retail outlets. We are still waiting for the details from the government on the sale of liquor bottles through online suppliers like Zomato and Swiggy for doorstep delivery. It would take some time for agreement between the government and the private operators. Till then people will have to get liquor from the counters of the retail outlets while abiding with safety protocols for Covid-19 pandemics,� said Manoj Kumar, Jamshedpur Excise Assistant Commissioner.
East Singhbhum along with other big eight districts � Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Deoghar, Ramgarh, Palamau and Giridih, as per the notification of the state excise department issued on Tuesday evening will have sale of liquor either from the counters or through online food delivery service provider like Zomato and Swiggy.
Though the sale of liquor had completely stopped during the lockdown came into effect on March 25, liquor bottles were still finding their ways to the boozers clandestinely across steel city. Various popular brands of the Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) were sold at a premium. A popular brand of liquor, MRP of which is Rs 900, was sold at a price ranging between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,600 a bottle. But the liquor bottles were changing hands to the ultimate users only through ‘reliable’ people.
Swiggy starts home delivery of alcohol in Ranchi �
Swiggy, leading on-demand delivery platform, has enabled online processing and home delivery of alcohol through the �Wine Shops� category on the Swiggy app. The service went live in Ranchi from Thursday after obtaining necessary approvals from the Jharkhand government, with other major cities in the state launching within a week. Swiggy is also in advanced stages of discussions with multiple state governments to provide support with online processing and home delivery of alcohol which the company can immediately enable by leveraging its existing technology and logistics infrastructure and nationwide presence.
To ensure safe delivery of alcohol and in compliance with applicable laws, Swiggy has introduced measures such as mandatory age verification and user authentication to complete deliveries. Customers can complete their instant age verification by uploading a picture of their valid government ID, followed by a selfie which the platform will use for authentication using an AI-powered system. All orders will carry a unique OTP which needs to be provided by the customer at the time of delivery.