CM Palaniswami announces closure of 500 Tasmac shops on his first day in office

Newly appointed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday announced shutting of 500 state-run liquor shopsNewly appointed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday announced shutting of 500 state-run liquor shops, PTI reported. The total number of shut liquor shops managed by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation has now reached 1,000. The closure of liquor stores in the state was part of J Jayalalithaa’s poll promise when she was elected back to power in 2016.

In his first formal press address since he took over, Palaniswami said the decision was made to honour the deceased chief minister’s promise to implement prohibition in a phased manner in the state. After taking over as the CM in May 2016, Jayalalithaa’s first order was to shut 500 Tasmac outlets. There are 5,000 Tasmac shops still open in the state, reported The Times of India. Tasmac shops alone bring in an annual revenue of around Rs 26,000 crore.