Tamil Nadu govt to shut down 500 liquor shops from 19 June

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government, on Saturday, issued instructions for the closure of 500 state-run retail liquor shops with effect from 19 June, in line with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s directives. According to a government release, MD, Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Kirlosh Kumar), has issued instructions for closure of 500 retail vending liquor shops with effect from 19 June. [caption id=“attachment_2843160” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] However, the release did not specify the specific outlets where shutters will be downed, starting Sunday. The order by the official also detailed the steps needed to be followed in redeploying employees of the outlets that will be closed down. This included posting them in existing vacancies in the district and others in the region as per requirement. Jayalalithaa had during the campaign for the 16 May Assembly polls promised the electorate that prohibition in the state will be implemented in a phased manner. After winning the elections, one of her first orders was to reduce the business hours of state-run TASMAC outlets. The working hours were revised from 12 noon to 10 pm as against the earlier 10 am to 10 pm schedule. She had also directed closure of 500 retail outlets.