NEW DELHI: The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) has launched a mobile app, Delhi Liquor Booking, that allows consumers to book liquor in advance from its retail outlets.
The move is aimed at reducing queues outside liquor shops, easing pressure on payment counters and making pricing and billing more transparent, officials said. Customers can check the availability of liquor brands at participating stores through the app before placing an order.
They can select a store, choose the brand, bottle size and quantity, and make the payment online. However, there is no option for home delivery, and the buyers must collect the bottles within 48 hours of making the payment.
The DSIIDC is one of the four government corporations that are authorised to operate retail liquor outlets in Delhi. The four corporations together run more than 700 liquor shops across the national capital in total. But the online booking facility is currently restricted to the DSIIDC’s 208 outlets.
However, the Delhi government move to begin the online booking of liquor has drawn fierce criticism from AAP, which has sought a rollback. AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj slammed the government for “focusing on making liquor easily accessible through an online booking application while failing to address public concerns over healthcare.”
“If Rekha Gupta does not roll back this app policy, we will seek Delhi Industry Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa’s resignation and stage a protest within the next 24 hours,” Bharadwaj said. Hitting back, Sirsa noted that tender for the development of the app was initiated during the AAP regime.