Lucknow, July 23: Good news for tipplers in Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi Aadityanath government has allowed the sale of alcohol outside containment zones in Uttar Pradesh during the ongoing lockdown. However, liquor shops can open only on every Saturday and Sunday. Earlier, liquor shops were allowed to open from 10 am to 9 pm daily across the state, except in containment zones. Uttar Pradesh Reports 2,529 New Coronavirus Cases.

Earlier, UP's Excise and Prohibition Minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri said that would be difficult to recover the revenue foregone due to closure of liquor shops during the lockdown. He had also attributed the slump in liquor sales to many returnee migrants not having jobs. "We had increased the rates on all the liquor brands, which resulted in increase in revenue to some extent," Agnihotri had told PTI.

Liquor Shops Can Open Outside Containment Zones on Every Saturday And Sunday in Uttar Pradesh:

Uttar Pradesh reported 2,529 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, an official said Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said that the total number of active cases in the state now stands at 21,003. The state government has asked all districts to make arrangements for setting up of static centres for COVID-19 testing in wake of the rising case-load in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2020 07:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).