Delhi gets first liquor outlet at shopping mall

Delhi on Friday got its first liquor outlet at a shopping mall which promises less hassles in buying spirits as compared to that from regular shops.

The shop, spread over 1,400 square feet area, has been set up by DSIIDC at the luxurious DLF Place mall in Saket in south Delhi.

On sale in the shop is over 200 brands of imported foreign liquor and almost all brands of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

A DSIIDC official said they are in talks with some other malls also may soon open similar outlets in shopping complexes.

"More shops will follow elsewhere. All of them will be named 'High Times'. We are mainly targeting the foreign tourists who will be in the city during the Commonwealth Games," he said.

The sprawling fully-airconditioned shop at the DLF Place has been designed according to international standards and has computerised billing and bar-coding facility, besides a trained batch of staff.

For wine lovers, the shop has a separate section for imported wine which has provisions to maintain correct temperature so that the real tastes of it could be retained.

"With separate entry and exit points, the shop will offer a great experience to the buyers. One can even buy liquor through credit card," said the official.

DSIIDC, known as a premier infrastructure development agency of the Delhi Government, runs 103 liquor vends across the city.

Tipplers in the city have welcomed the opening of the shop and said more such outlets should be there in the malls across the city.

"It is a welcome move but care should be taken to ensure that the shop does not become any other liquor vend where we have to scramble to buy a bottle of liquor," said 32-year-old Abhijit Gupta, a resident of Saket.

Gaurav Saxena, an employee with software company in Noida, said "experience of buying liquor will be totally different now. I am very happy."

The city government late last year had decided to allow sale of liquor in shopping malls to meet the demand during the Commonwealth Games.