Fact Check: Did Mamata Banerjee Govt Order Home Delivery Of Liquor During Corona Lockdown?

Free liquor, booze passes, special tippler's ration...coronavirus lockdown has sparked a frenzy of fake news surrounding alcohol. Now West Bengal has also joined the list of the states that have reportedly agreed to allow home delivery of liquor. There is just teeny tiny problem. There is no order. Its fake news! On Wednesday evening, several media channels and news websites ran stories on this 'landmark' order. Many hailed the compassionate leadership of Mamata Banerjee. Some said that she was inspired by Kerala. The reports even had details about how to place an order and other things.

Now it has emerged that there was no such order in the first place. The Kolkata Police has denied any booze delivery order. A report by The Print said that it was a WhatsApp forward that dangerously evolved into fake news. The messaging app witnessed a spurt of posts about Bengal order. The WhatsApp forward as published by the Print read: “From today onwards till lockdown period, liquor will be sold on home delivery basis from on shop/off shop/bar/restaurant/hotel. Public may place orders for buying liquor from their nearest on shop/off shop over the phone between 11am and 2 pm”. The message also added that, “Nobody can be allowed to come to the liquor shop physically and delivery boys will deliver the liquor. Liquor shop owners should approach the respective local police stations for obtaining passes…”

The buzz gained traction after many pointed out that the Mamata government had allowed sweet shops to function across state, liquor may follow soon. But now, it is clear - there is no liquor home delivery order in Bengal! Cheers to THAT!

On April 1st, despite several warnings, a message went viral on social media in Karnataka that a town in the state had got special permission to open the liquor shop for a limited period during the lockdown. Due to the viral message, many people flocked the government-run liquor shop in Karnataka's Gadag town.

"A lot of people thronged the MSIL store in Gadag from the early morning hours on Wednesday after they received a message saying an MSIL store will be open in the district," sources said. So what was the truth behind the viral message? The fact is that no such permission was given by the state government. Rather, it was an April Fool's Day prank played by someone on the tipplers on the town. It was only after waiting in the queue for hours that the local residents realized that they were pranked. The policemen had to rush to the spot to disperse the crowd.

In last week of March, a person was arrested for allegedly creating a fake Government Order on the reopening of liquor shops in Telangana and circulating the fake news in social media, police said. Sunny from Uppal area was held during the investigation following a complaint by the Excise Department that the fake GO claiming wine shops would be allowed to be opened for two-and-a-half hours started doing the rounds on social media on Saturday last, they said. The Excise Department had said the order/notification was fake and it had not issued any such order and as per the instructions of the Telangana government all retail shops of liquor (over 2,400 liquor retail outlets and over 700 bars in Telangana) shall remain closed during the lockdown period as part of the fight against COVID-19.