This left customers waiting outside closed shops and bars, hoping they would reopen. Chennai: In a bid to arm-twist the govt into rolling back its new measures to curb MRP violations — mandatory bottle collection and digital payments — Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation’s (Tasmac) contract workers shut liquor outlets across Tamil Nadu on Sunday without informing management.
Not opening liquor shops on a Sunday, when liquor sales would be 60% more than on a regular day, has left Tasmac officials shocked. the sales would jump to ₹265 crore on Sundays While Tasmac sells about ₹165 crore worth of liquor per day. No arrangements have been made about ₹10 notes and coins for reimbursement, said a Tasmac supervisor.
This govt does not run liquor outlets for profit, and it won’t allow any loophole in the system for some people to make money illegally,” the minister said.
“Unless the payment and issues about empty bottle collection are sorted out, we won’t be able to open the outlets,” said a Tasmac union member. Tasmac workers’ unions claimed that personnel on their own decided not to open shops. Prohibition and excise minister K Vignesh made it clear that the govt will not bow to Tasmac workers’ pressure tactics. Tasmac workers claimed the system had been rolled out in haste. “The new system required liquor bottles to be scanned three times — twice during sale and another for empty bottle collection. It is time-consuming, and the software is slow. There are payment issues as well.
“Show cause notice will be issued to everyone who did not report to work on Sunday, and those with unsatisfactory replies will be suspended.
They resort to such drama for that extra ₹10. Many Tasmac workers said they opened the shops but had to close them due to the maddening crowd.
“I had to seek police help to close the shop again,” said a few other supervisors, who complained that slow-functioning handheld scanners forced them to close shops as liquor buyers got agitated. Quality liquor and a better buying experience will always remain a dream in Tamil Nadu,” said Satish Galley, a Semmancheri resident. “It is high time the state govt privatises the retail liquor business. No amount of reformation will change Tasmac personnel’s behaviour.