Shaija Subramaniam Bipin

New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) One of the longest dry spells of as many as seven days began today in Delhi with quzzlers stocking up their 'daily dose' of alcohol well in advance.

Today all the liquor vends had downed their shutters on account of Mahavir Jayanti which will be followed by Milad-ul-Nabi tomorrow. April 6 is also a government holiday on account of Good Friday.

Then, with Delhi casting its vote in the assembly polls and liquor outlets downing their shutters a good 48 hours before the elections, April 3(after 1700 hrs), 4 and 5(till 1700 hrs) are dry days.

Counting of votes, in turn, is slated for April 7 which, again, becomes an official dry day.

An estimate reveals that around 12,000 cases of liquor worth Rs 2 crore is sold per day in Delhi. At the same time, dry days see customers resorting to stockpiling and making liquor purchases from neighbouring states. Figures reveal that liquor sales on the day preceding 'dry' days register a 40-45 per cent rise over normal business.

''It is a standard practice to observe dry days on the day preceding polling, on the day of polling, and also on the day votes are counted but this time it has coincided with the Delhi government leave,'' said an excise official on condition of anonymity.

Even as liquor outlets in Delhi remain closed on these dry days booze vends in neighbouring states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are officially open.

''Dry days allow smugglers and bootleggers to enter the picture.

The smuggling of liquor is assuming huge proportions in Delhi, more so because the city has so many dry days. If about 10,000 cases of liquor are sold through government-run vends on a daily basis, the same quantity of booze is smuggled in from neighbouring states on dry days.

In the current context, Delhi has around 300 government-run vends, 40 private outlets and 60 vends for country liquor, '' the official said.

While the excise department is reportedly coordinating with the crime branch to check bootlegging in the Capital, smugglers are constantly changing the routes through which they enter Delhi.

''Smuggled liquor enters Delhi from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and, to a lesser extent, from Madhya Pradesh.

We are keeping a vigil at check-posts along Delhi's borders and will also conduct raids at warehouses,'' the official added.

Last night the excise department was busy strengthening its drive against bootlegging. ''Bootleggers invariably become more active than usual on dry days. Since the next few weeks are high on dry days, we need to be extra-vigilant,'' said the official.

Talking to UNI, Rakesh, who works for a liqour vend at Safdarjung enclave said , ''Our outlet did a brisk business last night with people buying boopze in bulk. Though we have been directed by the excise department to discourage hoarding but in practise it becomes difficult.'' However, the habitual drinkers term such dry days ''baseless'' Says Ateet, a regular drinker, ''I really don't understand the concept of dry days as people like me stock up their quota well in advance ahead of non-alcoholic days.'' UNI