CHENNAI: The bars attached to the retail Tasmac shops, which are run by individuals after winning tender bids, were seen to be flouting rules with impunity, especially by selling liquor inside the bar premises at a premium, running kitchens within the precincts and often failing to maintain hygiene, a visit by TNIE to multiple bars in Chennai showed.
The terms and conditions imposed on these bars by Tasmac (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation), accessed by TNIE, say the bar licencees are not permitted to stock or sell liquor inside the premises and if they do their licences will be cancelled. The users of the bars are expected to buy liquor from adjacent retail outlets of Tasmac and drink them in these premises.
However, all the bars visited by TNIE in areas like Velachery, Taramani, Egmore and Thiruvanmiyur were found to be stocking and selling liquor inside the premises, by charging a premium over the MRP.
While the conditions allow the bars to sell packaged drinking water, cool drinks, boiled or fried grams, egg, fish and meat varieties at reasonable prices after obtaining registration from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), they are not allowed to cook or operate stoves inside the bar premises.
This again was found to be flouted by most bars, which also failed to display the price list of eatables as mandated by the rules. Importantly, while the licencees are expected to maintain adequate and clean toilet facilities by engaging workers, the toilets in the bars visited by TNIE were found to be in unhygienic and unusable conditions.
Despite such obvious violations and complaints, consumers alleged that no strong action is being taken, raising concerns about whether political affiliations of the licence holders are preventing authorities from taking action.
S Saravanan, a customer at the Velachery Tasmac retail outlet, told TNIE, “Stock from Tasmac is openly stocked and sold in the bars. The bars also charge extra over the MRP for beer and other types of liquor.”
He further alleged that when customers ask for specific brands, salesmen often claim they are out of stock and force them to buy the available brands that they want to sell.
Many also expressed concern about the poor quality and high prices of food served in Tasmac bars. While some lower-rung officials admitted that they are unable to act due to pressure, none of the senior officials wanted to comment on the issue.
A senior official from FSSAI in Chennai told TNIE that recent inspections at several Tasmac bars in north Chennai revealed multiple violations of food safety norms. “We conducted quality checks at a few bars, and most of them did not follow the rules. We warned them to maintain proper food quality,” the official said, admitting that the bars continued to flout regulations despite repeated warnings.
The FSSAI officials, however, said they were unaware of the rule that the bars cannot use stoves or cook inside the premises.