CHENNAI: Residents of a southern suburb who have already been putting up with the menace caused by the existing TASMAC liquor outlets are not happy with the move to open another one there. Though the shop is yet to be commissioned, residents have already sounded the warning bell.
Vengaivaasal, part of St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union, is located between Selaiyur and Medavakkam.
“This main road is not very wide. The opening of a liquor outlet will only cause new problems for pedestrians here,” said a resident who preferred not to be named. He wondered how police or revenue department officials could give permission to the outlet when it was located less than 500 metres from a place of worship and an engineering college affiliated to Anna University.
Residents said Velachery Main Road had become a safe road for six months when all shops along it were closed following the Supreme Court ruling. Now, problems have surfaced again with shops re-opening. They also pointed out to problems caused by littering of waste inside Nanmangalam lake by tipplers visiting an outlet on its bunds.
Government sources said they had enquired the matter after objections were raised. The proposed shop would come up on a private patta land. However, complaints would be looked into and appropriate further course of action would be recommended, they added.