After a 43-day dry spell, liquor sales resumed at state-run outlets in Tamil Nadu with the exception of Chennai in the midst of crackers bursting and cakes being distributed by some boisterous booze lovers as zealous consumers lined up in front of the stores since early morning to get their quota.
Opposing the move to reopen the liquor stores, DMK president M K Stalin, clad in black, held a placard and a black flag in front of his house against the resumption of sales at booze shops here.
DMK workers had briefly raised slogans demanding that the government close the outlets. Stalin had believed that opening liquor shops would lead in the spread of coronavirus that further.
The allies of his party including the MDMK and the left too opposed the change.
Three Districts are Still Open
Even before the shops were opened in non-containment areas at 10 a.m. The queue stretched in many localities up to a few kilometers including those below the districts of Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kancheepuram, Chengelpet and Tiruvallur. These were not opened in all areas, as a chunk of shops either fell in the containment or buffer zones.
Some young men burst crackers and distributed cakes to consumers in Tirupur and Madurai district, performing the traditional ‘aarti’ to open liquor shops. Store workers dispensing alcoholic beverages sported masks and gloves.
Citizens in Tirupur were seen with umbrellas in front of the liquor stores. It caused of per a district administration order to maintain social distance. The liquor outlets in Tamil Nadu were shut at 6 pm on March 24. And then, the stores are open from 10 am to 5 pm today.
On the other hand, the government does not give permission to open those stores. This pandemic cases are still up. However, the store is still open in those three districts.
