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Kanpur residents asked to submit personal details and get picture clicked before buying alcohol!

Submit your pictures and personal details to buy booze! Guzzlers in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh are facing a piquant situation when they are asked to submit their pictures clicked and personal details at the shops to buy liquor.

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Submit your pictures and personal details to buy booze! Guzzlers in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh are facing a piquant situation when they are asked to submit their pictures clicked and personal details at the shops to buy liquor.

In view of the local bodies polls, the excise department has issued a ‘farmaan’ to retail shops directing them to keep a personal record (name, address, picture and mobile number) of those buying liquor from their shops. The order was issued on the directions of Kanpur District Magistrate Surendra Singh, who is also returning officer for local bodies polls. 

Retail liquor shopkeepers are facing a lot of trouble due to the new diktat of the Kanpur DM. “One buyer abused me and refused to furnish details to buy a bottle of whiskey. Another almost manhandled me when I tried to click his photograph from my mobile,” said Shakti Singh, an employee of a liquor shop at Kidwai Nagar.

“Our sales have become half since Friday,” rued another liquor shop owner. The District Excise Officer has also directed the shop owners to maintain a register and furnish details of who bought how much quantity liquor from their shops on daily basis.

“We close shops at 11 pm, who would go and to the department at that odd hours to submit details on daily basis,” said another liquor vendor.

In fact, there appears to be some confusion and misunderstanding over the DM’s directions and order passed by the District Excise Officer. “I had asked them to keep personal records of those who are buying two or more bottles of liquor or those buying in bulk to ensure that the voters are not wooed by offering them liquor by candidates,” clarified DM Surendra Singh.

The purpose of DM’s Thursday night order was to keep a check on candidates buying liquor in bulk to woo voters, but it has left many tipplers observing a dry day. A few clever ones are going to adjoining districts to buy their supplies. “I didn’t get my booze on Friday. So I went Unnao and stocked two bottles,” said Amit Srivastava, an executive in a private company.

But the District Excise officer went a step ahead directing all vendors to keep a record of anyone buying the liquor from their shops.

Liquor vendors claimed that the order would adversely affect their sales and revenue collection of the state government. But there are those who are openly flouting the order to ensure that their sales go up in view of other vendors refusing to sell liquor without seeking personal details.

“One shopkeeper refused to let me buy a bottle but another one close by sold the bottle charging a premium of Rs 5 without taking personal details,” said a happy regular customer Santosh Kumar. He fears that government may link Aadhar with liquor purchase to keep a tab on them. 

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