Nearly 50 women from Pottapatti and nearby hamlets near Kottampatti here petitioned Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao on Monday against a proposal to open a TASMAC-run IMFL retail outlet.
According to them, a liquor shop with bar facility is being constructed along the road that leads to their village from Madurai-Tiruchi highway. The women said that there was no need for one more liquor shop since another outlet was functioning in five km away Kottampatti.
Complaining that their men were already frequenting that shopi, the women said that having one closer home would lead to more of them becoming alcoholics.
Importantly, the new shop would endanger the safety of people.“It is the main road of connectivity to our village. There is a bus service from Melur to Vellimalai which is located on the same road around five km away from our village. The bus service is infrequent and unreliable. If we miss it, all women, students and children have to walk for about two km,” said V. Amaravathi, a woman from the village.
Pointing out that there were many hillocks, canals and groves along the roadside, she said that those places could become safe havens for anti-social elements if the liquor shop was set up.
The women said that they would stage protest if their demand was not met.
