BENGALURU: Tipplers facing a long dry phase in view of coronavirus lockdown fell prey to April Fool's day prank on social media that liquor outlets will open for a day on Wednesday and thronged a shop in Karnatakas Gadag town, only to be driven away later.
People from various corners of the town to a shop on Mulagund Road queued up, apparently hoping to purchase some liquor, unware that it was a April 1 (April Fool's day) prank.
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Though they were in queue in a disciplined manner, the tipplers apparently ignored the norm of social distancing and stood in close proximity to each other. The crowd included women, youth and senior citizens.
Requesting anonymity, a person who saw and shot the video of the incident told: "The tipplers were speculating that the shop would open on April 1 and today a person stood in the queue. Soon others too started following him. Thus a long queue was formed but to no avail."
He said that those in the queue could be heard cursing the authorities for the lockdown which resulted in them not being able to get liquor. Learning about the incident, Gadag rural police personnel rushed to the spot and asked the people gathered in front of the liquor shop to disperse.
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Liquor shops in Karnataka are shut ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown in order to prevent the pandemic COVID-19 from spreading further, which has claimed many lives worldwide and disrupting the normal life everywhere.
Incidents of tipplers ending their lives apparently frustrated at not being able to get liquor during the lockdown have been reported in some of the southern states in the past few days.