Moments after Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal announced a six day lockdown in national Capital to tackle the raging Covid-19 pandemic, there were long queues at several liquor stores across the city.

As people lined up in queues the social distancing went for a toss. Most of the people were buying boxes of liquor while some bought two to six liquor bottles. Many lost patience as the mercury climbed and some even tried to jump queues, leading to minor disagreements and altercations at some places.

An association of liquor companies, meanwhile, came out with a statement urging the Delhi Government to start home delivery of alcoholic beverages in the city, on the lines of Maharashtra, to ease the rush.

“We believe that lockdown will be extended beyond six days and it is time to stock up the liquor at home. Liquor helps keep negative thinking out of your mind. There are many people at the shop, and I will try to buy at least six to eight bottles for myself,” said Abhimanyu Singh, while waiting for his turn at Mayur Vihar phase-III liquor shop.

Bharat Sharma, a resident of Dilshad Garden, said the moment he came to know about the lockdown, he reached the local liquor shop along with a friend. “We waited for more than one hour and somehow managed to get three bottles,” he added.

With similar reports from across the city, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) issued a statement saying, “What we saw today was a panic reaction from the public, driven by their memory of lockdown extensions last year. For lakhs of people all over India, alcohol is part of a regular consumption basket that they do not wish to be deprived of.”

“While we hope that the public and shopkeepers in Delhi adhere to COVID-appropriate behaviour, steps to reassure public would help. Decision of Maharashtra to allow home delivery of liquor, for example, has helped contained panic reaction to lockdown there. We urge the Delhi government to think of such steps,” Vinod Giri, CIABC director general, said in the statement.

A lot of people waiting in the queues said they bought liquor at almost double the rates last year and wanted to avoid a similar situation this time.

“During the last lockdown, we bought liquor bottles at doubled rates from the black market. Now, there is another lockdown, and seeing the current situation, one cannot say for how many days it will last. I will buy six whiskey bottles,” said Jagdish Samora of Malviya Nagar while standing in a queue at a liquor shop.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown from 10 pm on Monday till 5 am on April 26, which he said was necessary to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases, as the city's health system was stretched to its limits.

The national capital's health system is stretched, although it has not collapsed yet, the chief minister said, adding that despite around 25,500 cases coming up every day, Delhi's health system is still functioning.

Of the 863 liquor shops in Delhi, around 475 are run by four government corporations -- the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation and Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Store. The remaining shops are owned by private individuals. According to an estimate, Delhi earns Rs 6,574 crore each year through excise revenue.