Thursday, 07 March 2024 | MANSI BHAMBRI | DEHRADUN
There has been a noticeable rise in the number of women customers thronging the liquor shops now integrated with departmental stores in Dehradun. According to the excise department officers, about 75 departmental stores across the State, including 60 in Dehradun, have been granted license to sell liquor. And this move has emboldened women, from affluent families in particular, and the girls studying from hostels, to come and purchase alcohol from them, rupturing the trend with girls and women being seldom found purchasing from traditional liquor outlets.
The department store owners The Pioneer spoke to sounded happy with the increasing volume of sale of both grocery items and alcohol, saying that since the liquor sale started from their stores, the number of women customers has increased significantly.
Speaking of the matter, the owner of a prominent departmental store in the city, Kartik Chandra said that there is a dedicated section for branded liquor in his departmental store. “Women, particularly those from upper middle class families, prefer high-end shops for their needs and liquor is a new item in their shopping list. They scarcely purchase liquor from the traditional liquor shops, fearing that they would be stared at and mocked. But now they are stepping into our stores and purchasing goods at their own sweet will without anyone raising curious and sneering eyebrows,” he added.
Another departmental store owner Manpreet Singh echoed the same view and said that the excise department’s move is proving to be a gender leveller. “The number of girls and women coming to our stores is seeing a spike nowadays thanks to the hassle- free alcohol buying environment here. They are now becoming a major chunk of our clientele,” she added.
Another departmental store owner Vivek Gupta mentioned that the sale of liquor from departmental stores has led to an increase in sales of other grocery items too. “They are drawn in for liquor purchases and end up buying grocery products additionally. The new environment has contributed to a rise in liquor consumption among women in the city as they feel more at ease purchasing liquor from these modern establishments than from traditional outlets,” he added.
He further said that the upper-middle class people choose their stores for buying branded and high-priced liquor while the middle class and lower middle class people do not find it affordable to buy the same.
