TASMAC liquor outlets to open in Chennai from Tuesday

Chennai: Around 800 wine shops under the aegis of TASMAC, the state-run alcoholic beverages company, which have remained shut since May 16 in the capital city of Chennai will open from Tuesday between 10 am and 7 pm. An official announcement to this effect was made today by the Corporation. It said that 500 tokens would be issued to the customers and shops in malls and containment zones will not be opened. The advice for the prospective customers is to maintain social distance and standard protocol while purchasing their liquor brands from the shops across the city municipal limits.

43 days after lockdown on March 24, 4500 wine shops had opened all across Tamil Nadu, excluding Chennai on May 7. The High Court ordered its closure on May 9 as there were complaints that social distancing was not being followed. Subsequently, accepting an appeal from the State government they were re-opened on May 16 but the capital city remained dry.

Dina Thanthi reports that in 2019-2020 fiscal, liquor sales in the State across its 5300 shops had touched Rs 33,000 crore. With the upward revision in rates in the first quarter of the year, the turnover was expected to touch Rs 38,000 crore this year. The lockdown has been a dampener and a loss of Rs 6,000 crore is what the TASMAC is staring at as of now.