Sitting on a liquor stockpile of around ₹3,000 crore, restaurants and hotels across the country are asking state governments to allow them to sell the stock lying with them due to the coronavirus lockdown. "We are truly living in unprecedented times where on one hand we are sitting with expensive liquor inventory and on the other hand, we are cash starved," National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) President Anurag Katriar said.
The industry sees a ray of hope as many states have permitted sales of retail alcohol. "We request every state government to allow us an opportunity to sell our liquor stocks, preferably through home delivery model. "This will help us deplete our stocks, raise some money to take care of urgent people needs