People queue at a liquor store in Bengaluru on Monday.
A flood of people after a long dry spell. Queues, chaos and lathicharges marked Monday even as some states reported a high in excise earnings as liquor shops reopened.
In Mumbai, a five-hour flip-flop within the bureaucracy over whether liquor shops be allowed to open left people waiting till 3pm, when the order finally came. However, many had to return empty-handed as majority of owners decided to open only on Tuesday morning.
In places like Solapur city and Aurangabad, the district administrations did not allow liquor shops to reopen at all.
Bengaluru saw serpentine queues, and flouting of social distancing norms. Many hired people to stand in for them. The city also saw a large number of women standing in queues though many said they felt uncomfortable with men around. Some complained about being jost