THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For most of the people who had been waiting for the launch of the much-awaited social distancing app 'BevQ', which rolled out the virtual queue system at the liquor outlets in the state, the downloading and booking online token through the app was a test of patience.
Chaos and confusion prevailed as the app which appeared in the public domain by Wednesday midnight developed technical snags.
However, around three lakh people managed to download the app soon after it appeared in Google play store and 2.82 lakhs tokens were generated until Wednesday morning.
But, the bar owners and Bevco outlets couldn’t scan the QR code printed in the token in the morning as they failed to log into the app due to technical reasons.
Later, the outlets sold liquor by noting down customers' token numbers in a logbook.
Many customers alleged that though they downloaded the app, it failed to generate OTP in time due to which the customers couldn’t take the token in their initial attempts.
Later, most of the customers booked the token after remaining glued to the app for hours. Similarly, though the app was said to be available in playstore, people downloaded the app from the link provided by the service providers.
By around 10 am, the application providers stopped issuing token for the day and announced that token will be issued in the post-noon session for the liquor sale of Friday.
Meanwhile, the tipplers flooded the Facebook page of the solution provider Faircode Technologies with tirades and criticism questioning their competency in taking up such a task.
In many places, people thronged near the premises of outlets hoping that there would be any temporary mechanism for providing liquor for those who couldn’t book the tokens.
There were no untoward incidents anywhere in the state and the tipplers bought the liquor adhering to COVID protocol issued by the health department. They maintained social distancing and wore masks at the liquor outlets.