Source: Telegraph India
KOLKATA, INDIA, October 10, 2001: According to a government directive, retail shops selling liquor will be allowed to do business until 11:00 pm, and all bars in Kolkata will have permission to remain open till an hour after midnight during the coming festivals. All this to ensure that neither Kolkatans nor tourists are left high and dry. The ruling communists are also considering a proposal from the tourism department and the hoteliers’ lobby for a waiver of the ban on sale of liquor on Ashtami and Dashami. The Left Front government, which once considered consumption of liquor a symbol of “decadence,” did not issue a single liquor license for 13 years. But of late, it has started showing a flexible attitude in consideration of the considerable tax revenue generated by liquor sales.