The 64-day wait of booze lovers in Kerala for the reopening of liquor outlets in the state came to an end on Thursday, though many of them were not in a mood to give a toast to the government. The government's attempt to manage the number of customers at outlets, bars and beer parlours using a mobile application – BevQ – turned out to be a fiasco as technical glitches marred the purpose of the facility across the state.
Liquor sales commenced at the 301-state-run outlets and 576 bar hotels in the state and a time slot has been allotted to each customer. More than permissible number of customers were seen in front of many outlets due to confusions in timing and delay in opening outlets.
A total of 2,25,000 tokens were issued through the app on day one, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It is not clear whether all those who were issued tokens could buy their bottles from the outlets assigned online. The sum of the day's sales are yet to be out.
State-run liquor outlets, bars as well as beer and wine parlours have been closed since March 24, when the Centre declared a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19.
The state government decided to open liquor outlets as part of easing lockdown restrictions. It was decided to use the mobile app to regulate the crowd to ensure social distancing rules and avoid crowds.
TV channels aired visuals of long queue in front of many outlets as customers complained of technical glitches like prolonged delay in getting one-time passwords and lack of facilities at the counters to read barcodes.
Internet-literate Keralites unleashed an attack on Kochi-based Faircode Technologies, the firm that developed the app. The app was launched on Google Playstore Wednesday night after facing several technical issues.
Infuriated consumers who did not get one-time passwords after hours started pounding BevQ with a minimum rating of one on Playstore.
The app also remains unlisted in the Store even for searches made on its name. Spirited Keralites had to find other ways to download the app – they found it listed under an atypical keyword ksbcvirtualq on the Store's website.
BevQ's ratings tumbled to undesirable lows after users vent their ire.
At 8.10 pm Thursday, the overall rating of the app remained at 2.4. Over 18,300 consumers had left their reviews from a download base of over one lakh.
An unofficial app by Calvinteq that mushroomed in the absence of BevQ, though stifled early by the well learned Keralites, managed a 1.5 rating on Wednesday, the day it was launched.
Another called 'Kuppy' by Sandio Technologies, which simply lists the liquor and wine prices in the state has managed an admirable rating of 3.7.
Faircode's credibility is now put to the test, with many resorting to vent their anger on the Kochi-based developer's Facebook page.
Faircode assures fix
Responding to concerns, Faircode said it will quickly work to fix the issues.
It is roping in two more OTP providers in addition to the one that they currently have to ensure that One Time Passwords (OTPs) are sent for each token promptly.
The company has warned that booking will be unavailable for some time on Friday – it expects solutions to be rolled out in four hours.
For more details on how to use the BevQ app, click here.
Oppn targets govt
The near-failure of the app invited scathing criticism from opposition UDF who had alleged foul play in the manner in which the company was chosen for developing the app.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has sought a Vigilance inquiry into the contract procedures alleging corruption and crony-capitalism behind the move.
CPM leader and MLA M Noushad defended the government saying the initial day glitch was normal and it will be fixed soon.
Kerala State Beverages (Manufacturing and Marketing) Corporation Ltd (BEVCO) Managing Director G Sparjan Kumar said traffic on Google Playstore to download the app (BevQ) was heavy and resulted in many customers failing to make the booking.
"At least 3.5 lakh people have downloaded the application which was launched yesterday. At least 2.5 lakh e-tokens have been issued for today. Traffic was heavy to download the application resulting in delay for booking the slot for many," Kumar told P T I.
On an average a shop can serve around 400 customers on a day and the maximum quantity one token can avail is three litres.
There were many who arrived at outlets after managing to get a token while some, mostly elderly people, turned up unaware of the app and its use.
"I just tried to book using the app. I could do it in a few minutes and got the time for now. I just wanted to see if it would work and it worked and I have got a bottle," said a young man, who was one of the first to get a bottle in the state capital district.
But not all were lucky.
"I have been waiting in front of this shop from where I normally source my stuff. But things are not that rosy, as they say I have to book through my mobile phone for a token. How can I do that, as I don't have a mobile. I have the required money for my brand. I will wait and see what happens, may be seeing my plight, the staff will give me one bottle," said a 75-year-old man waiting in front of a liquor vend in the state capital.
"I am a daily labourer, though I have a mobile, I do not know how to take a token using the mobile as I don't know to read or write. I will wait a little more and if nothing happens, I will go back," said a person who came to a shop in Kottayam district.
Sale of liquor and beer is one of the biggest revenue earners in Kerala. In the last fiscal, the southern state garnered Rs 14,504.67 crore on this count.
An earlier study conducted in Kerala revealed that around 32.9 lakh people - 29.8 lakh men and 3.1 lakh women - out of the state's 3.34 crore population consume liquor. Around five lakh people consume liquor daily. Of these, 83,851 people, including 1,043 women, are addicted to alcohol.
(With inputs from agencies)
