Sources said the new government is not interested in facilitating home delivery of liquor as it would invite public criticism and implementing it also has practical difficulties.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the state government planning to drop the idea of home delivery of liquor owing to practical difficulties, it may consider bringing back ‘BevQ’ app or going in for other online queue management options for selling liquor through the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) outlets.
The government is likely to take a policy decision in this regard in the first week of June, said sources.
The Bevco outlets and bars in the state have remained closed since April 27 following a surge in Covid cases during the second wave. However, the decision has caused a huge loss to the government as liquor and lottery sales have been the main sources of its revenue.
Besides, there has been a spurt in the number of seizures of illicit liquor, arrack and other narcotic substances in the last one month.
Sources said the new government is not interested in facilitating home delivery of liquor as it would invite public criticism and implementing it also has practical difficulties. Additional DGP Yogesh Gupta, chairman and managing director of Bevco, said the government is weighing various options.
“If the pandemic situation persists in the coming weeks, we may opt for online queue management options to avoid rush at the liquor outlets. Be it BevQ or other online apps, a decision has to be taken at the government level. We will implement it accordingly,” said Gupta.
During the lockdown last year, the government had shortlisted Kochi-based startup Faircode Technologies Private Ltd for developing BevQ app. However, the app initially had several technical glitches in generating the one-time password (OTP) for confirming the online registration process for obtaining the pass, which triggered a controversy. Later, the app got streamlined and Rs 750-crore worth of sales happened during the first 15 days of its implementation. While Bevco outlets did sales worth around Rs 250 crore, bars, beer and wine parlours, KTDC beer parlours and Consumerfed outlets did business worth Rs 500 crore during the period.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Faircode Technologies said the company has not received any official information from the state government so far and hence, they cannot comment on the matter. “It is government’s project. If they inform us, we will take a decision accordingly,” he said.
At present, there are 598 bar hotels and 357 beer and wine parlours in the state. The state has 265 Bevco outlets and 36 Consumerfed outlets.
