TN liquor policy: Inconsistencies leave public dazed

Thanjavur: A bunch of people wait anxiously for the shops to open. Most of them are hooked to liquor. As soon as the State-run Tasmac wine shops opened by noon at Medical college road, new bus stand and near Cauvery super market at Thanjavur, they throng the shop like a swarm of bees to vie with each other to get the brand they want. On Saturdays and Sundays, the crowd swell and the shops are not able to adequately supply the demand. For them noon is too late a time. They would be happy if the shops were opened at 10 am as it used to be earlier.

Following the poll promise to shut Tasmac shops in phases, government closed down 1,000 shops initially in the state and changed the timings from 10 am to 10 pm to 12 noon to 10 pm.

The people wouldn’t have bothered much had the government showed interest in fulfilling its commitment to close shops in phases and moved further towards total prohibition. However, they do not like half-way measures.  

“Government on the one hand orchestrates its total prohibition policy, but on the other hand has an eye on the revenue it gets from Tasmac. As a result, shops are opened at places where people don’t like them. People agitate against the shops. This is not a good situation,” said Durai Mathivanan, an activist against liquor.

On April 29, 2018, high court ordered the closure of 1,700 liquor shops opened along highways falling under municipal areas across state as the process followed in permitting such shops were not in accordance with the Supreme court order on opening of Tasmac shops.

The direction to government was given when the court heard a PIL on the circular issued by the state government dated September 1, 2017, directing the collectors to permit all FL one and FL two licensed establishments within the limits of municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats.

Following the circular, 1,700 shops were opened across the state in a short period besides permit rooms and bars.

The High court asked the government to close them down citing Supreme Court order, and holding that the direction to collectors is not in accordance with the Apex court order.

The state government went against this order to the Supreme Court and got permission to open shops along highways in the limits of Municipal Corporation, municipalities and town panchayats.

As per the order, Tasmac can open shops on highways with a bypass road to ease traffic. The retail outlets can also be reopened on highways that begin and end within a corporation, municipality, town panchayts and other local bodies.

On May 26, 2018, government issued orders to district managers of Tasmac to ‘identify shops that do not pose danger’. But the shops re-opened in Thanjavur are in places that pose danger to people.

Traffic is affected on Medical college road near the shop as persons going to purchase liquor, park their two-wheelers on the road. Business establishments like banks are nearby.

Surya, a staff in a private establishment near the shop said that the shop remains a nuisance. Traffic jams occur in the evenings. There are quarrels and sometimes it leads to clashes between people. “This shop remained closed. But we don’t know why they opened it again. It is better it is closed down,” he said.

With marketing important for Tasmac to earn more revenue, it opened four shops in the area of new bus stand. All the shops were closed before. One is very near the bus stand entrance. “We opened this shop one month back. Sales are to the tune of  Rs 3 lakh to 4 lakh per day. We sell beer and six brands of IMFL. While six brands accounted for 80 per cent of the sale, beer accounts for 20 per cent of the sale,” said the superviser in the shop.

But the boozers pose danger to passengers-particularly women and children who go to bus stand to travel in buses. Tasmac’s attempt to locate shops has been objected to by people at various places, not only in Thanjavur town, but in the entire district.

Recently at Uranipuram village in Thiruvonam block, a large number of people including school students staged a ‘rasta roko’ agitation against two Tasmac shops in their village. When police threatened to arrest them, panic stricken school students jumped into the nearby Grand Anicut canal, full of water. They were rescued.

Kakkarai Sukumar, a farmer leader said that they have been repeatedly giving petition to collector to drop the proposal to open a Tasmac shop on Kakkarai-Mannargudi road. A building for the shop has been constructed by Tasmac here. 

“Two schools are located near the proposed site of the shop. One of them is a higher secondary school and the other, an elementary school. The school students and farm women going to work would face problems,” he said. Sundar from Vallam said that two shops in the town near Thanjavur were shifted to a place on National highway, resulting in accidents.

Officials at the collectorate say that they have receive minimum two petitions at general grievances day to either remove a Tasmac shop or not to open one, or to drop the plan to open a new shop etc, every  Monday. “In three months time we received 15 petitions,” they said.

People say that only way out for the government is to implement its poll promise of shutting down Tasmac shops in phases and declare total prohibition, taking a leaf out of Gujarat and Bihar’s book. “Government should not try to have the cake and eat it too,” they said.