"A Big Thank You To Vijay": Tamil Nadu Women Welcome 'Liquor Ban' Move

Forty-eight-year-old Manoranjitham, a petty shop owner in Chennai's Teynampet, says she finally feels relieved. A government-run TASMAC liquor outlet that functioned just a few metres from her small shop for years is now set to shut down under the Tamil Nadu government's latest crackdown on liquor outlets.

The shop stood close to a government school as well, drawing regular crowds of drinkers throughout the day. Manoranjitham says alcohol addiction has shattered several families in the locality, including members of her own extended family.

"It's a big problem. Many even snatch the thali (wedlock) from women to pledge it for drinking. Women expect only one thing - these shops should be shut. If these outlets are closed, we ourselves will do better. If he (Vijay) gets this done for us, he can remain in power for the next fifteen years," she said.

In another part of Chennai, at Royapettah,

A liquor shop close to a girls' school, mosque and temple has already been shut and the stock is being shifted to a godown. A teacher from the Hobart School for Muslim Girls welcomed the move. "It was such a delicate and uncomfortable feeling to cross the liquor shop," she said.

69-year-old Savithri, a roadside flower seller, welcomes the move. She says she has endured years of harassment from drunk men because of a TASMAC outlet located on the road that eked her livelihood. School-going children in the area had long suffered because of the shop's presence.

"It's torture because of this brandy shop. This should be shut, that's all. A big thank you to him (Vijay). They tease school-going children. They ask girls, 'Can we stalk you?' she alleged.

The closures are part of Chief Minister Vijay's order to shut down 717 TASMAC outlets situated within 500 metres of schools, colleges, places of worship and bus stations across Tamil Nadu.

The move is being seen as the fulfilment of a major election promise made by Vijay, whose party received strong backing from women voters in the assembly polls. The government has projected the crackdown as a measure aimed at protecting women and youth.

The decision is also politically significant because liquor sales contribute nearly Rs 40,000 crore annually to Tamil Nadu's revenues.

Tamil Nadu's politics has long had a complicated relationship with prohibition and liquor regulation. Almost every major political party in the state has, at various points, promised restrictions on liquor sales while balancing the enormous revenue generated through TASMAC outlets.

Political observers say Vijay's move mirrors the political positioning once adopted by former Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, both of whom cultivated strong support among women voters through welfare measures and periodic anti-liquor campaigns.

For women like Manoranjitham and Savithri, however, the closures are less about political symbolism and more about everyday safety, dignity and family welfare.