Chennai: It has been three days since the validity of bars attached to Tasmac’s retail vending shops expired, but their business continued to thrive illegally — thanks to zero enforcement from Tasmac management.There are more than 200 bars attached to Tasmac outlets in the city, and their licences expired on June 30. However, when TOI visited three liquor shops in T Nagar (Shop No 733), Pondy Bazaar (Shop No 620) and North Boag Road (Shop No 718) on Friday, all three had active bars with full-fledged live kitchens cooking omelettes and fish fries for customers. Some bars deployed staffers outside the venue to alert about the arrival of police or other enforcement authorities.Tipplers made a beeline for these outlets, and the staffers escorted them to air-conditioned and non-AC facilities. Nearly 25 % of Tasmac outlets are located on bar premises. Supervisors were unable to open the outlets without opening the bar. “The control of such shops is with bar owners. We are helpless,” said a supervisor of a Tasmac outlet in T Nagar.A Tasmac official from Central Chennai said that all 50 bars in the jurisdiction were closed. “Some tried to violate and open the bars in North and Central Chennai, but we inspected and closed them before 12.30pm,” said the district manager. However, in Washermenpet, tipplers were found consuming liqour on the premises.Tasmac district managers claimed that bar owners open the premises using duplicate keys. “Bar owners claim that they have received a go-ahead from the Tasmac management to operate the bars. But we haven’t got any communication from the headquarters as yet,” said a district manager.Prohibition and excise minister K Vignesh, who announced that the Tasmac-attached bars will not function, was not available to comment on the poor enforcement. Tasmac managing director S Nanthakumar too did not respond to queries.
