More than 100 residents of Poigai Mottur village in Vellore on Sunday staged a demonstration against plans by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) to relocate a liquor shop to the area.
Following an order by the Madras High Court that set a deadline of Sunday for closure of TASMAC shops located on National Highways, the district administration had identified an outlet at Sethuvalai near Vellore on NH-46. This was to be relocated to Minnal Nagar in Poigai Mottur.
Local residents led by PMK district organising secretary Agni Velmurugan and Sathyamangalam Panchayat President Ramani Ashokan staged a protest in front of the proposed site in Minnal Nagar.
The protest was withdrawn after Vellore Deputy Superintendent of Police S Dakshinamoorthy arrived at the spot and pacified the residents.
Due to the steep increase in accidents due to drunken driving on NH/ State Highways the Madras High Court has ordered the shifting of all TASMAC liquor vending shops, numbering over 500, from the NH to interior places.