Chandigarh, April 18 -- Chandigarh is in the grip of a severe liquor shortage, with shelves running dry at vends, customers' frustration mounting and prices of any liquor available rising by the day.

It all started after the UT excise and taxation department on April 9 sealed 48 of the 96 vends allotted for financial year 2025-26 after the successful bidders failed to submit bank guarantees worth Rs.40 crore.

Ever since, just 47 vends remain operational, most struggling to meet customer demand.

But the crisis runs deeper-with an unprecedented cocktail of excise policy uncertainty, pending payments, technical glitches and supply chain delays leaving even the operational vends dry.

Liquor companies have stalled supplies due to unpaid du...