Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the state-run liquor outlets in the state recorded liquor sales worth a whopping Rs 465.79 crore over the Deepavali weekend. According to an official note, TASMAC sold Rs 277.88 crore on Friday, November 13, and on the day of Deepavali, November 14, liquor sales worth Rs 237.91 crore were recorded across the state of Tamil Nadu.
Sales for 2020 are much higher than those of last year, as TASMAC had sold liquor worth Rs 355 crore on the day of Deepavali and the day preceding it, reports say. According to reports, there are over 5,300 TASMAC liquor outlets in the state contributing about Rs 30,000 crore of tax revenue to the state exchequer.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, TASMAC stores are open with due precautions and restrictions from 12 noon to 10 pm across the state. This is applicable to all the retail shops across Tamil Nadu.
Last year on Deepavali, the state had raked in Rs 445 crore during the three-day festival. In 2018 the total sale had been Rs325 crore, Rs 245 crore in 2017 and Rs 265 crore in 2016.
During festivals in the state, liquor consumption reportedly sees a 20-30% jump. Usually sales is close to Rs 70-80 crore on weekdays and Rs 100 crore on weekends.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr C Vijaya Baskar said that the government had received inputs that cases had spiked in some states due to festival time crowding. He added that the government's focus on testing, searching (for cases) and isolation strategy was key to the drop in infections. "Tamil Nadu has been on the declining trend and this is due to the RT-PCR testing. We are not missing anyone who is positive and are consistent with our testing, searching and isolation," he said.
As a result, no positive person is left out and "we are curtailing" the chance of such individuals becoming a spreader, he told reporters here. "This is the reason for our success. More awareness is required and more compliance can lead to more effective decline," he added.
(With PTI inputs)