Kolkata, Apr 14 (IANS): There is bad news for beer lovers in West Bengal, and that too at a time when demand for the mild alcoholic beverage is on the rise because of the scorching summer heat.

The state excise department has decided to ration the supply of the beverage to retail liquor outlets of the state till further orders.

The excise department has issued clear instruction to the West Bengal State Beverage Corporation (WBSBC), the sole wholesale supplier of alcoholic beverages in the state, on this count and also provided a formula for rationing.

Explaining the rationing formula, a senior official of the WBSBC said on condition of anonymity that as per the excise department directive, one retail liquor outlet in a month will receive only that amount of beer bottles or cans that they raiseed from the corporation in the same month of the previous year, i.e., 2021.

The directive is effective from April 2022 and will continue till further orders, which means till the production and supply of beer gets stabilised.

Excise Commissioner S. Umashankar admitted that because of the pandemic situation, the pace of beer production had slowed, leading to the supply crisis.

However, he expressed hope that the situation will come under control soon, and supplies will be stabilised and rationing will be withdrawn.

This is not the first time that the excise department has decided to ration supply of beer in the state.

O.P. Gupta, who owns multiple retail liquor outlets, told IANS that the new rule will be a matter of worry if the rationing continues for a long time, since the demand for beer will rise further in the next three months when the summer heat will be at its peak.

IANS also contacted the office of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies in New Delhi to get its comment on this issue. But it declined to comment on the matter.