BMC decides to shut all liquor shops in Mumbai, only essential shops to be left open

Liquor shops in Mumbai will remain closed from Wednesday as the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to let only essential services function in the city. On Tuesday Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi issued an order saying that only ‘groceries, medical/ chemist shops will be allowed to be opened’. The development comes in the back of huge crowds thronging the liquor shops in Mumbai and the police machinery simply unable to control the crowds.

Pardeshi’s order on Tuesday noted this by saying, “ There are multiple reports, news in social media and inputs received from the police and the ward officials that due to above relaxation there has been huge crowds gathering near these shops and where it has been impossible to maintain social distancing and there were few instances of law and order situation arising out of such crowds gathering at one place.”.

The order by the Municipal Commissioner notes that the city has seen a number of positive cases and ‘the down ward trend is yet to set in and gathering of crowds in large numbers without following social distancing will be detrimental to the control of spread of the virus and the advantages of the lockdown will be lost to the gathering of people in large numbers.”


Under the revised rules the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner has ordered that ‘no such permission for opening of five shops which are non essential to be given and the senior Police inspectors will ensure compliance of these orders in toto.

Mumbai is grappling with a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, Mumbai currently has 9758 cases and 387 deaths. On an average it has been getting more than 400 cases per day.