Ever since the State Government heeded to the Court’s order to close down liquor outlets close to State and National Highways, a new problem has been forced upon citizens in the name of shifting liquor outlets run by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC).
Be it the sprouting of new shops or the shifting of new ones, in virtual reality, the number of shops closed is close to nil as either some of them are shifted or running illegally within closed doors. A recent report against such selling in Madukkarai came up after people were selling liquor around an outlet illegally. A raid was also conducted by the District Police a after the report that came up in Simplicity.
In other areas, where shifting had been carried out public out roar has frequently come up much against the move. Protests happened in almost all districts were people criticised tasmac officials for shifting outlets into residential areas.
However, most of the outlets where protest happened were not closed and people have been feeling the discomfort caused by them. Following the bandwagon, residents and complex owner close to NSR Road in Saibaba Colony, have complained about an outlet that had sprouted in the area recently.
According to some of the complainants, it has become a cause of concern for them as the outlet is creating a near chaos situation in the evenings in the area. “The outlet is very close to the Annapoorna bus stop on the NSR Road and people who wait for the bus have to stand near the outlet. Since the shop is crowded in the evening hours, school going children and women are largely affected,” said a resident.
She further added that since the outlet is at an important junction, people have to cross it to reach nearby places.
“If at all the officials cannot remove it, they can at least shift to a nearby place”, said another resident.