Residents have demanded the relocation of a Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) outlet at Hasanamapet village on Tuesday as it led to public nuisance and accidents.

On Tuesday, a group of residents in the village submitted a petition to officials at the Revenue Divisional Office (RDO) in Cheyyar town for relocation of the outlet. Residents said that the outlet is located on Vembakkam Kutt Road where commuters from at least 20 surrounding farming villages have to board long distance buses to Pondicherry, Kancheepuram, Chennai, Salem, and Dharmapuri. The outlet is also surrounded by two local temples, a Government High School, and a bank.

Residents said that the outlet resulted in public nuisance every day, especially during weekends when wage labourers and agricultural workers get their weekly salary in the village. “We have also been fighting for relocation of the outlet on the key stretch in the village due to frequent accidents involving pedestrians,” said G. Pari, a resident.

The TASMAC outlet is located near Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai on Vembakkam Kutt Road.

Residents said that there were several recent incidents in the village where inebriated people were caught assaulting people. Drunk people were also found lying on the carriageway, affecting traffic movement on the route.

Residents said that several complaints to close the existing Tasmac outlet were given to the District Collector as recently as a fortnight ago. Students are also scared to use the stretch.

Tasmac officials said that at present, a total of 19 outlets were closed in the district. The closure of outlets comes after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, in May, directed authorities to shut down 717 Tasmac liquor outlets located within 500 metres of places of worship, educational institutions, and bus stands across the State.

Since then, Tasmac officials said that the relocation and permanent shut down of the outlets in the district were done based on complaints by residents and social activists to the Collector. Subsequently, a team of officials will identify isolated locations for relocation of the identified shops.

Out of a total 385 outlets in the region, Tiruvannamalai district has the highest number of outlets (206), followed by Ranipet (83), Vellore (60) and Tirupattur (36).

Published - July 22, 2026 05:30 am IST