Kerala govt finalises on vendor for online liquor supply; sales to begin soon

Bookings for online liquor sales in Kerala is expected to commence by May 18 or May 19  

Trivandrum: Beverages Corporation of Kerala has reached an agreement with a Kochi based start-up firm to create a website for online liquor booking in the state. This firm was shortlisted out of 21 companies that expressed interest to provide an online facility for liquor delivery.

A joint committee with members from BEVCO, Start-up mission, and IT mission reached a unanimous decision about the web services vendor. The final Memorandum of Understanding will be signed today. The government is planning to start bookings for liquor online by 18th or 19th of May. Before starting, a trial run of token delivery will be performed.

Online token booking is mandatory for sales through the bar counters as well. The bars will have to sell liquor at the same price as that of the BEVCO counters. Bar owners have not shown keen interest in selling liquor through their counters due to the same issue. The leader of opposition in the assembly has also alleged that there is a scam afoot between the CM and bar owners. Ramesh Chennithala also alleged that the CM is trying to push BEVCO into loss by allowing off-the-counter sales in bars. The government explained that the sale of liquor through bar counters is a precautionary measure taken on a temporary basis to avoid rush in BEVCO outlets.