Following the decision to revert to its earlier excise policy that provides for dry days on gazetted holidays, the Delhi government has chosen to observe six dry days between January 26 and March 30.
Republic Day (Jan 26), Guru Ravidas Birthday (Feb 5), Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti (Feb 15), Mahashivaratri (Feb 18), Holi (Mar 8) and Ram Navami (Mar 8) are some of these days (Mar 30).
Dry days are days when the government prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages at liquor stores, clubs, or bars. These are often gazetted holidays.
Furthermore, the administration has made such a decision for the first time. Previously, just liquor stores were closed on dry days, but pubs and restaurants may still serve alcohol.
According to the statement, the Delhi government publishes a timetable of dry days every three months.
The current old excise regime, which went into effect on September 1 of last year and superseded the excise policy 2021-22, has 21 dry days.
The Excise Policy 2021-22 reduced the number of dry days to three, prompting the BJP to launch a scathing attack on the ruling AAP over booze businesses operating on religious holidays.
In October 2022, the Delhi government named Valmiki Jayanti, Eid Milad-un-Nabi, Dussehra, and Diwali as dry days.
The Delhi government dropped its Excise Policy 2021-22 after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena requested a CBI inquiry in July 2022 due to apparent anomalies in its execution.
From November 17, 2021 until August 31, 2022, the Excise Policy 2021-22 was in effect.
