Video: Mad Rush At Noida Liquor Stores Amid Deals To Finish Stock

Tipplers thronged liquor shops across Noida in large numbers to grab heavy discounts and schemes like one or two bottles free on each purchase on Tuesday, as stores sought to deplete the existing stock by March 31 before new contractors take over the vends in the next financial year.

Several videos shared by X users showed long, serpentine queues outside various shops, including English Wine Shop in Sector 18, as people arrived for bulk purchases. Some people were seen leaving with crates of liquor. 

In one of the videos, a man standing outside the store in Sector 18 is heard saying: "A lockdown is being imposed from tomorrow. Take everything today." 

एक बोतल पर एक बोतल दारू फ्री –

उत्तर प्रदेश के शराब ठेके वालों को 31 मार्च की रात 12 बजे तक सारा स्टॉक खत्म करना है। वरना बची हुई दारू सरकारी खाते में जमा हो जाएगी और उसकी बिक्री नहीं हो पाएगी। इसलिए ठेके वाले ग्राहकों को खूब ऑफर दे रहे हैं। Video नोएडा की है। pic.twitter.com/hCLD9sxleu

— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) March 25, 2025

Sources said such discounts and the rush to liquor stores are only likely to increase in the coming days as vendors face the pressure of exhausting their existing stock by March 31 to renew their licenses for the new financial year. The existing state excise policy also requires retailers to hand over leftover stock to the government at the end of the financial year. 

Besides, new contractors will take over the vends on April 1. 

In February, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the Excise Policy for the financial year 2025-26, with several key changes including the introduction of an e-lottery system for the allocation of liquor and 'Bhang' (cannabis) shops.

The government has also for the first time introduced the concept of "Composite Shops", merging separate beer and foreign liquor outlets into a single unit.

The government has retained the existing operating hours for liquor shops, which will remain open from 10 am to 10 pm - a 12-hour limit that has been in place for several years, state Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal said.