Several hundred women and men from Peraiyur petitioned Collector T.S. Rajasekar, seeking the closure of a TASMAC shop in their neighbourhood, here on Monday.
The Collector received the petition outside the grievance meeting hall from the sizeable crowd, instead of the usual practice of a few representatives meeting him.
P. Thangapandian, a resident of Vijayanagaiyapuram, said that the TASMAC shop in the area was the cause of several accidents and fights. “The shop is located on the main road en route Saptur and is 150 metres away from our village. People get drunk, sip tea nearby and begin engaging in verbal and physical fights. Our women tend to be ridiculed and harassed. It is embarrassing for everyone,” he said.
He said that apart from this nuisance, drunk men enter the village and create a ruckus as well. Villagers did not anticipate the scale of trouble caused by the TASMAC shop. “We have petitioned the Collector three times in the past but have got no response,” he said.
The Collector asked officials from Peraiyur taluk office to look into the issue.
