Google approves BevQ, a Kerala app that will manage liquor queues virtually

The app has been developed by a Kochi-based startup Faircode Technologies Private Limited to avoid reopening of liquor outlets & serpentine queues outside them.

Representational image of alcohol bottles | Photo: Pexels

New Delhi: BevQ, Kerala’s newly-developed mobile app which will introduce a virtual queue system for liquor sale was approved by Google Tuesday. The app will soon be available for download on the Google Play Store.

It was developed by a Kochi-based startup called Faircode Technologies Private Limited to avoid reopening of liquor outlets and the serpentine queues outside them.

The proposal for approval to Google was submitted Friday after a two-level testing by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team. The app was chosen among 26 others by a committee chaired by the IT secretary with the Kerala Startup Mission. BevQ was selected on the basis of its technical and financial feasibility.

M.G. K.Vishnu, CEO of Faircode Technologies, said, “We are in the process of wrapping up the remaining process before making it available for download. Apart from the backend technical process for the seamless operation of the app, some mandatory processes like training the staff at liquor outlets to deal with potential hitches also need to be done.”

Staff at alcohol stores will also be trained through online video tutorials in coordination with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation.

‘Traffic in app would be 10 times more in Kerala’

An app has been in demand since the government ruled that liquor stores would be closed for over two months.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, developers of BevQ were waiting to get a security clearance after they were asked to enhance the app’s technical competency.

A senior government official said: “Normally a customer will try to take an online token from at least two or three smartphones, thus increasing the traffic. This is what was seen in Tamil Nadu and Delhi when the apps for virtual queue system were launched, which led to a crash.

“We have to avoid this scenario in Kerala where the traffic would be 10 times more. The app failed to meet this expectation and the startup was told to rework. Further, Kerala has also plans to make it a permanent mechanism.”