Chennai: Ending a six-week long wait because of the Covid-19 lockdown, the Tamilnadu government today opened the shutters of its TASMAC wine shops amid tight police protection.
From morning itself, tipplers gathered in front of liquor outlets in large numbers and police personnel regulated them.
With a surge of booze lovers expected to hit the state- run TASMAC outlets today as the day progresses, police announced age-specific time slots for the sale of liquor, which will however, be not available in this city and three of its adjoining districts.
On Wednesday, the price revision was being effected following a 15 per cent increase in excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), an official release said. Accordingly, the rate of a normal brand of 180 ml of IMFL has gone up by Rs 10, while premium ones saw a price increase of Rs 20.
The decision to hike the rates came a day ahead of TASMAC retail outlets set to reopen in Tamilnadu, with the government giving the nod to resume sales citing the Centre’s relaxation in this connection and tipplers from border districts thronging shops in Karnataka and AP on 4 May.
Liquor sales contributes significantly to the state’s coffers, with the turnover said to be around Rs 29,000 crore in 2019-20 FY.