People in Uttar Pradesh sure love their booze, and even the government knows this. 

So much so, that a District Magistrate has come up with an ingenious solution to help people get over their vaccine hesitancy, and finally, get vaccinated.

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The District Magistrate’s Office of Etawah has put out an order, making it mandatory for liquor shops to check the vaccine certificates of people who come to buy liquor. 

If a patron is unable to produce such their certificate, they will not be served.

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Additional District Magistrate Hem Kumar Singh ordered that notices should be posted outside government-owned liquor outlets in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district which reads, "Liquor will be sold only to those who are vaccinated." 

© ANI

Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest vaccine hesitancy rates in India. 

As per the reports of a notable online news platform, Uttar Pradesh has partially vaccinated (i.e. at least one shot has been delivered) only 4.40 per cent of its population, as opposed to the national percentage of 9.24 per cent.

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Although there has been no official order from the government, and nor the DM’s office, this move is actually being lauded for the ingenuity of the move.

The Uttar Pradesh Government announced that from June 1, COVID curfew and restrictions will be relaxed in a phased manner, starting with districts that have less than 600 open cases of people suffering from the disease.

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Shops and markets in districts with less than 600 active cases will be allowed to operate from 7 AM to 7 PM.  

Meanwhile, people on Twitter had quite a few interesting things to say about this development: 

Etawah: Liquor sellers in Saifai say the sub-divisional magistrate has instructed them not to sell liquor to those not vaccinated against #COVID19. (ANI) pic.twitter.com/ZHwRcAytP7

— NDTV (@ndtv) May 31, 2021

Well done… at least they will get vaccinated because of booze…

— Prathiba Suresh (@prathib2002) May 31, 2021

1 dose of vaccine = adda

— akshay (@akshay__gupta) May 31, 2021

1 dose of vaccine = adda

— akshay (@akshay__gupta) May 31, 2021

They Can Have Vaccination Centres At Those Shops !

— MITHU SIMO (@mithu_simo) May 31, 2021

They Can Have Vaccination Centres At Those Shops !

— MITHU SIMO (@mithu_simo) May 31, 2021

What do you make of this “genius solution”? Will a plan like this work, or will vendors start selling their stock illegally? Let us know in the comments below what you think.

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