Happy Monday for Chennai’s tipplers

CHENNAI: With barricades and a bevy of men in khaki, liquor shops in the city were arguably some of the most protected places in the State on Monday. Preparations to form queue structures by police and TASMAC personnel had started on Sunday itself. At elite TASMAC shops and those inside buildings, measures were taken to avoid stampede.

Most TASMAC outlets on main roads had barricades placed in more than two lanes with queues forming a curve. Speaking to Express, H Jeyaraman, an employee of a Choolaimedu TASMAC shop, said: “Customers started arriving and waiting in front of the shops from 7 am. As there are four TASMAC outlets along the same stretch of road, police called for backup. Tokens were issued in the morning to limit individual purchase.”

Police resort to lathicharge

A few police personnel at Mylapore said there was a rush during the 40 minutes to 5pm, the time for the shops to put up the shutters. They said they had to resort to lathicharge as a few customers jumped queue and started crowding. “There was a 600-metre-long queue in front of our store. So, we had to ration the liquor until stock arrived. We sold over 3,000 bottles within an hour,” said K Jebaraj, supervisor of an Adyar TASMAC shop. In Anna Nagar, Choolaimedu, Pallavaram, and few other localities with more than four stores along a single road, vehicular traffic moved at snail pace as liquor customers had parked their vehicles on the road. Along Anna Nagar’s Fifth Main Road, which has three outlets, cars parked on roadside stretched for over 1.5 kilometers.

Eager to open a bottle

Police personnel were later instructed to ask customers to park their vehicles along arterial roads in the residential areas. “We deployed a few personnel near the parking places as there were houses nearby. Even before returning to their vehicles, some had started consuming the liquor, littering the roads with broken glass. Police moved them away and anyone seen opening liquor bottles on the road was caught and warned,” said a police officer.

Meanwhile, tea shops and salons saw customers pouring in on Monday. Salons, beauty parlours, and spas were allowed to function from 6 am to 5 pm without air-conditioners and with only 50 per cent capacity. 
Popular salons chains in the city fixed appointments for the customers since Saturday, after the government announced the relaxations. “We are full for the next seven days. We sent a few customers to nearby branches. We fill the slots based on staff strength and customer requirements,” said a salon staff.