Close liquor shops to prevent Covid-19 spread: PMK

Chennai, April 27 (IANS) The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss on Tuesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to close down the liquor shops in the state to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Pointing out the growing Covid-19 infections in the state Ramadoss said as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) liquor will reduce the immunity levels in an individual and its consumption should be curtailed during a pandemic.

Ramadoss said crowding at liquor shops is not the only reason for the demand to close the liquor shops.

He said the spread of coronavirus due to the huge crowd at the shops in the evenings will surely spread the virus.

Moreover during the pandemic period the economic condition of the poor has worsened and alcoholics will spend on liquor even the meagre sum that is at their homes.

Liquor retail in Tamil Nadu is a state monopoly run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation or popularly known as Tasmac.

There are over 5,300 Tasmac liquor outlets in the state contributing over Rs 30,000 crore of tax revenue to the state exchequer.

Last year when the pandemic broke out, the state government ordered closure of liquor outlets for more than a month.

This time around the government has ordered closure of gyms, movie theatres, shopping malls, big format stores, places of worship for the public and others to prevent the virus from spreading.