UP starts border checks to enforce 1-bottle rule

Data shared by the UP excise department shows significant price difference in the selling price of branded liquor in Delhi and UP

- Shafaque.Alam

Noida: An apparent discount rush to liquor stores in Delhi and complaints of revenue loss on this side of the border have prompted the excise department and police in UP to step up a vigil near the entry points of Noida and Ghaziabad to enforce the one-bottle rule. And it's only legal if the bottle is unsealed, the excise department insists.

Posters advising against carrying liquor from other states into UP have been put up near the borders and policemen have been making announcements through portable PA systems to deter discount hunters. Some Delhi stores had also been giving 'buy one, get one free offer, which did not go down well with liquor traders in NCR. They have been complaining to the excise department about the loss of business. "People are informed that illegally importing liquor from other states is a punishable offence in UP. The violator will be booked under the UP Excise Act and sent to jail," read a notice put up in Noida.