Bringing in cheers to the tipplers,
the Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced resumption of liquor sales from May 7 after a long dry spell due to COVID-19 lockdown since March 24, but ruled out opening the shops in containment zones.
The decision to open the state-run retail outlets across Tamil Nadu was taken after people in districts bordering Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh started making a beeline to liquor shops there which started functioning from Monday, posing a challenge in controlling people's movement, the government said in a release.
A major revenue grosser for the state exchequer, liquor sales is nationalised in Tamil Nadu with the TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) being the sole agency retailing it.
The TASMAC outlets have been closed since March 24 when the government effected a state-wide lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.
On Monday, the government allowed re-opening of the shops from May 7, with a series of riders including strict implementation of social distancing norms.
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