Kerala eases lockdown: Yes to liquor shops; No to places of worship, inviting protests

Thiruvananthapuram: With a phased relaxation of Covid lockdown restrictions taking effect in Kerala on Thursday, the most frantic rush was noticed in front of liquor outlets, with tipplers waiting from early morning for the item they seem to have been missing so long.

However, even as places including liquor shops and bars have been allowed to function - the latter only for takeaways – places of worship will remain shut even in this phase of unlocking.

Muslim bodies and the public have been pleading to decision-makers and the government that Muslim mosques do even in normal times follow certain hygienic norms stricter than Covid protocols, by which worshippers are required to wash their hands and face before every prayer, and so, the mosques should be allowed to open with limits on the number of entrants and with physical distance. They also point out that religious leaders and mosque authorities have been vigorously advocating adherence to Covid-related health protocols.

Ever since the lockdown was imposed over five weeks ago, mosques have remained shut except for the call for prayer by muezzin (the one to call for prayer) and the imam to perform the symbolic five times prayer daily.

Muslim organisations have separately and collectively, submitted memoranda to the chief minister for a favourable decision to this effect, but the government seems to have given no heed to them.

Protests have also been raised about the Hindu temples being force-shut as part of Covid protocol. The Nair Service Society (NSS) and the BJP questioned the government decision not to allow places of worship even when liquor outlets were allowed to function. They cited it as a denial of the right of devotees.

Meanwhile, it is getting almost business as usual in terms of volume for the liquor trade, with 301 retail liquor vends belonging to the state-run Bevco, besides 576 bars and 291 wine and beer shops all set to resume selling liquor.

News agency IANS quoted some tipplers who had been in for a surprise by the April 26 order to close all liquor vends for an indefinite period. During the previous easing of lockdown after the first wave of Covid, long queues could be seen before liquor outlets in visible violation of Covid protocol, but this time round, customers claim that they were following protocols well, including avoidance of jostling and wearing of double masks.

Ambitiously enough, this time the tipplers' grumbling is about the mandatory closure of shops on Saturday and Sunday when they want them open.

Statistics show Kerala has a relatively high percentage of liquor consumers, i.e., around 32.9 lakh people out of the 3.34 crore population, which include 29.8 lakh men and 3.1 lakh women. Of this, around five lakh are daily consumers, and over 80 thousand addicted to alcohol including 1,043 women according to government statistics quoted by IANS.

One possible reason for the early permission granted for alcohol to be sold is the huge tax revenue it gives to the government kitty, with an estimated Rs 15,000 crore being netted in the last fiscal year.