PUNE : Following a liquor ban imposed ahead of polling day and an impending partial ban on Saturday, liquor shops have been seeing a rush of buyers. Sameer Pathak, a resident of Aundh, said that he went to buy liquor on Wednesday night and had to wait in a queue. “We planned a house party on Friday night, and I want to ensure that I am well stocked up before the stocks run out at stores,” he said.
Liquor owners were allowed to open their shops only after the election procedure was complete post 8 pm on Wednesday. A liquor shop owner at Pashan said, “We saw quite a bit of rush on Wednesday because the preceding two days were dry days. We are expecting a rush on Friday too.
” Typically, before a dry day, liquor stores see a 20-25% rise in sales. Rajit Pardeshi, who runs Pardeshi Wines at Karve Road, said that there was a rush after the store opened on Wednesday night. “A lot of brands were sold out because of the demand.
We may stock up additionally as it’s a partial dry day on Saturday, season time, and also the weekend,” he said. Store owners said that the imposition of a partial ban, which allows liquor stores to operate only for 2-3 hours, is causing a lot of overcrowding at stores in a short operating window. “It is extremely stressful and becomes very difficult for us to manage the crowd.
There is a parking issue, and sometimes it even results in customer fights,” said a liquor store owner in Mandai. Akash Khanna, a resident of Kondhwa, said he had to tur.