New Delhi: The Central government has decided to further extend the lockdown till May 17 to combat the spread of Coronavirus. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released a new set of guidelines which allows liquor shops to resume operations with certain restrictions. The liquor and tobacco shops will be allowed to operate in Green and Orange zones. The shops located outside hotspots or containment areas in the Red zones have also been granted permission.

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar said that opening the liquor shops during the lockdown will bring ‘disastrous results’. There has been a surge in the number of domestic violence cases amid the Coronavirus lockdown and the ‘Sholay’ writer said that liquor will make the days more dangerous for women and children.

“Opening liquor shops during the lock down will only bring disastrous results . In any case according to all the surveys  nowadays domestic Violence has increased to a large extent .liquor will make these days even more dangerous of for women and children,” Akhtar tweeted.


The religious places,  shopping malls, entertainment parks, educational institutions, cinema halls, bars and auditoriums will remain shut under the third phase of the COVID-19 lockdown "irrespective of the zones" they are situated in.

Meanwhile, the number of Coronavirus positive cases has escalated to over 37, 000 in India.

Watch this space for more updates!