If there is one thing that can be expected after the announcement of a lockdown, it is the high sale in liquor and migrants leaving the city. This time too, Bangalore and Karnataka, in general, has made a beeline at the liquor stores to stock up and as many as 30,000 migrants have left.
In the two days leading up to the lockdown, Karnataka has clocked a liquor sale of Rs. 410 crore which includes 4.9 lakh litres in Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 83,000 litres of beer. This amounts to more than 40% of the usual sales on a given day. “Since liquor shops will be closed for a week, most customers purchased full bottles (each bottle contains 750ml), contributing to the sale,” said a Bangalore shop owner. The high sale can be attributed to the fact that people are expecting the lockdown to be extended and are prepping for it.
Adding to this, over 30,000 people have left the city, most of whom are migrants fearful of being without work and facing the same challenges as the last lockdown.
“The number is big given the fact that we are allowing a limited number of passengers in the buses to maintain social distancing,” a KSRTC official said. As of today, 19,702 people in the city have tested positive, of which there are 15,052 active cases, while 4,328 have been discharged. We hope the lockdown period helps authorities take the much-needed action to tackling Coronavirus.
