Bars attached to Tasmac shops selling liquor, running kitchens

TNIE finds facilities violating rules with impunity, failing to maintain hygiene

- S GURUVANMIKANATHAN

THE bars attached to the retail Tasmac shops, which are run by individuals after winning tender bids, seem 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.