First Day Liquor sale is Tamilnadu is Rs 170 Crores amid Lockdown
Reportedly tamilnadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) outlets recently sold liquor worth Rs 172.59 crore in just a day. It may be noted that 5,146 TASMAC outlets in the state usually recorded daily sales of about Rs 70 to Rs 80 crore before the lockdown. But as liquor stores were allowed to resume operations in non-containment areas in the state, just 3,750 TASMAC outlets earned over Rs 170 crore.
The highest sale was registered in madurai where liquor worth Rs 46.78 crore was sold. madurai was followed Trichy zone with sales worth Rs 45.67 crore; Rs 41.56 crore in salem zone; Rs. 28.42 crores in coimbatore zone and Rs 10.16 crore in chennai zone including Cuddalore, Viluppuram and suburbs of Chengelpet, kanchipuram and Tiruvallur. TASMACs generate a significant share of the revenue for the state government.Madras high court ordered shut tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shops across the state, two days after allowing them to operate in non-containment zones. This, after the court noted that physical distancing norms to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were not adhered to. The decision to reopen TASMACs was slammed by Opposition parties and activists who warned that it would lead to overcrowding. On friday, the court permitted the sale of liquor through online ordering and home delivery only.
The court passed the orders in a petition field by the AG Maurya, former IPS officer and a leader of actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam party. On thursday, the actor-politician wrote a letter, slammed the AIADMK government for reopening the TASMAC, calling the move 'hairbrained' and 'data-bordering on genocide'. kamal haasan messaged, "The judgement has yet again proved that belief and promise of the court will always win. We have got a judgement for the people. This is not a victory for MNM alone." Moreover tamilnadu State authorities said that a majority of the new Covid-19 cases in tamil Nadu are linked to the Koyambedu Wholesale Market in Chennai. Now, the Koyembedu Market Complex has been temporarily shut after it emerged as a hotspot for Covid-19 cases in the state.