^{Image Source: Bangalore Mirror}

Bengaluru: All those who have been waiting for the shutters of the wine shops to go up, prepare to be disappointed.

It is unlikely that the state government will give its nod to open wine shops in the state. Hinting that the ban on sale of liquor will continue for some more time, Excise Minister H Nagesh said that the Punjab government had urged the PM to lift the ban on sale of liquor, but the latter refused to do so during an interaction with the Chief Ministers of various states on Monday.

“The order of the PM will be implemented in the state,” said the Minister driving across the point that the ban on liquor will not be lifted even after May 3.

Meanwhile, he said that the discussion on opening liquor shops in Green Zones is being discussed with the Karnataka CM and a decision will be taken in this regard after May 3.

Excise Minister asks CM to relax lockdown as dept needs to pay salaries

As there is a ban on the sale of alcohol in the state due to the ongoing lockdown, the Excise Minister asked Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to relax the lockdown rules after May 3, as his department is facing a cash crunch.

As per a report by India Today, Minister Nagesh said that the CM has assured that he will review the situation and take a call. “The CM has also shown an interest in opening the shops,” he said.

He added that the department’s treasury has been depleted and that they need money to pay salaries to the staff and meet their other expenses.

Reportedly, each month that the sales are not made, the excise department loses Rs 1,800 crores!

The department has set a target of Rs 22,700 crore for FY2021.