TENKASI: Saris for Rs 50! The owner of a textile shop in Alangulam managed to woo thousands of women with the tempting offer but had to cough up Rs 10,000 as a fine after over 5,000 women thronged the shop, throwing caution -- and social distancing -- to the winds.
Sources said the shop, located opposite the taluk office and just 800 metres away from the police station, had offered saris for Rs 50 for the first 3,000 customers.
"Ironically, those who inaugurated the shop by lighting a 'kuthuvilakku' include Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime against Women) Rajendran, Tenkasi Congress MLA Palani Nadar and Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu's President Vikramaraja," said a source, adding a banner mentioning the Rs 50-sari was installed prominently along the Tirunelveli-Tenkasi highway a day before the shop's inauguration.
Over 5,000 women from Alangulam and its surrounding villages reached the shop in the morning itself. "None of them were wearing masks and following social distancing. Police personnel had to be deployed to control the crowd," the source added.
Following the incident, health officials imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on the owner. "We did not seal the shop as health officials had imposed a penalty," said Alangulam tahsildar Parimala. Superintendent of Police R Krishnaraj said the Alangulam police registered a case against the owner and manager of the textile shop.