Residents of various parts of Ambattur staged a demonstration on Tuesday protesting the opening of a Tasmac liquor outlet in their locality.
People from areas including Indira Nagar, Ramapuram, Varadarajapuram, Cholapuram and Uppukaramedu took part in the demonstration held near Ambattur uzhavar sandhai.
M. Kanniappan, a resident of Varadharajapuram, said that Tasmac was planning to open an outlet at the junction of Kumarasamy Street and GNG Street. This approach road is used by several people, particularly women, to reach the Ambattur railway station.
“We don’t want a Tasmac outlet in a residential area that has schools and a market nearby. We are protesting this move for the second time in a month. The roads near Ambattur Bazaar already have four Tasmac shops,” he said.
Residents said they had also opposed the proposed opening of another Tasmac outlet two years ago, on nearby Compounder Ramasamy Street. The proposal was dropped after they submitted a representation to the Ambattur tahsildar. The current protest is against a proposed outlet in the same locality.
Members of Uzhaipppor Urimai Iyakkam and the Communist Party of India (Marxist and Leninist) participated in the demonstration. Residents also raised slogans against a delay in the distribution of free tabletop grinders and mixies in their area. While people of adjacent areas had already received these products, here they had not yet arrived, residents complained.
On Monday, residents of ICF Colony, Ayappakkam, had staged a similar protest over the functioning of a Tasmac outlet in a residential area.
