Are liquor shops open in Delhi on Holi? Here's what the government said

Liquor Stores

• Liquor shops in Delhi will stay open on Holi this year
• Holi removed from Delhi's list of 'dry days' by government order
• Only five days till March end are now 'dry days' in Delhi

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Liquor shops across Delhi will remain open on Holi. According to an order issued by the Delhi government back in January, the festival of colours is no longer on the list of 'dry days', meaning days when the liquor stores are shut.

According to an order issued January this year, only the occasions of Republic Day, Maha Shivratri, Id-ul-Fitr, Ram Navami and Mahavir Jayanti will be observed as 'dry days' till the end of March.

"This Holi, there will be no dry day, and liquor shops will remain open. The closure of shops will be observed as per the order issued in January," PTI reported earlier in the evening quoting an excise official. Over the past few years, Holi has been among the 'dry days' in Delhi.

STORY | Liquor shops in Delhi to remain open on Holi

Liquor shops across the capital will remain open this Holi, as the government has removed the festival from its list of 'dry days', a senior excise department official said on Tuesday. READ: https://t.co/jxIXtZ7Sz6pic.twitter.com/E562NsMUrz — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 3, 2026

There are around 750 liquor shops across the capital. As per the order, license holders "shall not be entitled to any compensation on account of any changes effected in the above list", and the restriction on liquor sale on dry days above shall not apply to hotels serving liquor to guests.

The order mentions that those holding a licence to run a liquor store won't be entitled to any compensation for the closure. It also specified that the curbs won't apply to licensed hotels and guesthouses serving liquor to their guests.

Over the past couple of decades, Holi has mostly been a 'dry day' in the national capital, a choice aimed at preventing law and order issues. The only exception was 2022, when a liquor policy brought by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government had reduced the number of 'dry days' to just three.