For the second day on Friday, residents of Sellur attempted to stop the opening of a TASMAC shop in their locality. However, a large posse of police chased the protesters and picked up 20 of them. Protesters complained that the police used force to chase them away.

Meanwhile, officials closed the shop in the afternoon after it was pointed out that the shop was close to a containment zone.

A woman wondered how the administration allowed the Tasmac shop in Meenatchipuram to open when it was very close to a containment zone.

“While the police are strict about timings of grocery and vegetable shops, how can they allow large number of people to gather and buy liquor,” a woman asked.

Pointing out that the area witnessed daily skirmishes due to inebriated people, she added that liquor was also leading to lot of problem in many families.

“Though poor people were forced to borrow money to feed their families, there was some peace during the last 43 days. But, now families were facing issues not just due to loss of jobs but also due to alcohol,” she said.

The police said that while 20 men, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) member, Balu, were picked up, the women who squatted on the road, were chased away.

The officials and the police say that opening of TASMAC shops is the policy decision of the Government and no one should interfere in this issue, the CPI (M) urban district secretary, R. Vijayarajan, said.

Meanwhile, another protest was reported in Thathaneri under Sellur police station limits. Some 15 women forced the TASMAC shop to close. However, after intervention of the police, the shop was re-opened.

Similar protest was held in front of two TASMAC shops in Sellur on Thursday too.