Hic! Chennai almost goes dry after Supreme Court directive

Chennai: With the Supreme Court ban on liquor in hotels and bars located on highways coming into effect from Saturday, a majority of bars in star hotels on city’s arterial roads like Anna Salai, Poonamallee high road, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, GST Road, Old Mahabalipuram Road and East Coast Road went dry.

Apart from government owned Tasmac shops and attached bars, star hotels on these roads were asked by the excise department not to sell liquor in their outlets   from Saturday because these roads managed by highways department and not by Chennai corporation. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered shutdown of liquor shops and bars on all highways across the country with a view to bringing down the accidents due to drunken driving.

According to bar consultant Arasu Dennis, half of the city has gone dry on Saturday. “I feel it should not apply to those bars and pubs functioning in city limits. If you are talking about drunken driving and speeding on highways, you should implement it beyond city limits,” he said.

When contacted, representatives of star hotels located in Guindy and Anna Salai said that they were abiding by the SC order and the management will chalk out future plans after consulting with the legal teams.