New Delhi, May 18: Liquor prices were hiked in Puducherry as the government has decided to impose a "corona fee", in addition to other cess and taxes collected on the sale of alcohol. The decision was finalised at a late-night Cabinet meeting called by Chief Minister V Narayanasamy. The move will aid the union territory in shore up revenues -- which massively plunged due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Coronavirus Live Tracker: Map The Spread of COVID-19 in All States of India.

In another major decision, the government has decided to not to open the liquor shops from tomorrow - as announced earlier on Monday. Instead, alcohol and wine shops would resume operations from Wednesday, confirmed Narayanasamy.

"Cabinet meeting reconvened now and decided to impose a corona fee for liquor and to reopen the liquor shops day after tomorrow in Puducherry," the Chief Minister said.

See V Narayanasamy's Tweet

Other UTs and states, including Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka have also imposed a similar cess on liquor to address the fiscal challenges.

Puducherry government, earlier on Monday, decided to extended the COVID-19 lockdown till May 31 -- in accordance to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday. The union territory is one of the least-affected regions of India, with a total of 24 cases out of which 11 have recovered. One death, however, has been recorded.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2020 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).