UP: Change in timing of liquor shops? Demand raised to keep them open until late at night

May 20, 2026

On Wednesday, a delegation from the Liquor Sellers’ Welfare Association met with Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal and requested an extension of the opening and closing hours for liquor shops.

In a memorandum submitted to the Excise Minister, the delegation stated that due to the intense summer heat, footfall at the shops has declined; consequently, they requested that the operational hours be extended from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM to provide relief to both customers and shopkeepers.

Vikas Mohan Srivastava, the General Secretary of the organization’s Working Department, who was part of the delegation, apprised the Minister of the difficulties currently being faced in the operation of the shops. He further requested that the system of “permit rooms” for beer consumption be reinstated, as was the practice in the past. Regarding country liquor, he noted that the sales quota assigned to shops within the metropolitan area is excessively high, resulting in a significant portion of the stock remaining unsold.

Meanwhile, due to the lottery system for license allocation, long-standing liquor traders are gradually being forced out of the business. The delegation included Vice President Ramesh Jaiswal, along with Shankar Lal Kanojia, Vijay Jaiswal, Devesh Jaiswal, Rajesh Jaiswal, Pankaj Jaiswal, Vipin Jaiswal, and Shivkumar Jaiswal.