Protesting against opening of a retail liquor outlet in Mudhunal near here, local residents, including women and children, laid siege to the shop on Sunday and prevented the salesman from opening it.
As large number of people squatted in front of the shop, demanding its permanent closure, the salesman, who came to open it at noon, sought the assistance of police to disperse the crowd and help him open the shop.
The villagers who threatened to ransack the shop, dispersed after local Tahsildar Shanmugasundaram and Kenikarai Inspector of Police Senthilkumaran held talks with them and assured them that the shop would not be opened for the time being. The officials also told the protesters that they could seek a permanent remedy by petitioning the Collector.
The villagers said this was the fourth shop to be opened in their locality coming under Soorankottai panchayat. After closing down four retail liquor outlets, located on the National Highway in the town on the orders of Supreme Court a few months ago, Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) had relocated three of them in villages in Soorankottai panchayat on the outskirts of the town.
It earned the wrath of the villagers when TASMAC opened the fourth retail outlet at Mudhunaal, a few days ago. When the shed was built, the villagers were told that it was a pumping house built for agricultural purpose, but it turned out to be a retail liquor outlet, S. Manivannan, a home guard in Mudhunal, said.
Tension broke out in the area briefly when a section of tipplers staged a protest demanding the opening of the shop.
Mr. Manivannan said that outsiders frequented the villages of Idayarvalasai, Krishna Nagar and Naganatha Nagar and created all sorts of problems after TASMAC relocated three of the four shops functioning in the town. When the villagers were already fighting against the shops, the officials opened the fourth shop, he said.
Women and schoolchildren were scarred to pass through the shops as the tipplers created problems. They proposed to present petitions to the Collector, Superintendent of Police and TASMAC manager on Monday, they said.