World · South & Central Asia · 9 hrs ago
Queues form at Tamil Nadu liquor shops after ₹10 price rise and closure rumours
Customers queued at Tasmac liquor shops in Chennai and nearby districts on Monday, despite rain.
The queues grew after false social media claims raised fears of more shop closures.
Tasmac, Tamil Nadu’s state-run liquor retailer, had announced a ₹10 price increase for all liquor types from November 1, adding an environment cess.
Customers can get the ₹10 back by returning empty bottles, but some outlets lack space to store them.
Staff also reported that price labels, scanners and payment machines were not ready for the change.
The rush came just days before Deepavali, a period when Tasmac typically records high sales.
Tasmac suspended workers responsible for shop closures on Sunday and Monday.
Queues formed at Tasmac liquor shops across Chennai and neighbouring districts on Monday amid a ₹10 price increase and rumours that outlets might close.
The price rise took effect on November 1, with the increase described as an environment cess.
Fake social media reports about uncertainty over shop operations added to customers’ concerns, with Deepavali approaching.
Some outlets had closed on Sunday without informing management, and Tasmac suspended workers responsible for closures on Sunday and Monday.
Salesmen reported problems with updated price stickers, payment scanners and space to store returned empty bottles.
- Who
- Customers queued at Tasmac liquor shops; Tasmac workers and salesmen were also involved.
- What
- Queues formed amid a ₹10 rise in liquor prices and rumours that shops might close.
- When
- Monday; the price increase took effect on November 1.
- Where
- Chennai and neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu.
- Why
- Customers feared further shop closures after outlets shut on Sunday and fake closure rumours spread on social media.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Tasmac said it would raise the maximum retail price of all liquor variants by ₹10 from November 1.
The ₹10 price increase took effect, with an environment cess added to existing prices.
Many Tasmac shops closed without informing management.
Long queues formed as closure rumours spread on social media, and Tasmac suspended workers responsible for shop closures on Sunday and Monday.
- Price rise
- ₹10 on all liquor variants
- Effective date
- November 1
- Retail outlets
- 4,048 Tasmac shops as of July 2026
- Workforce
- 22,877 employees as of July 2026
- Revenue
- ₹50,845 crore in 2025-2026
What people are saying
We were given very little time to adapt to these two changes. We were informed only two days ago. Some of the bottles did not have updated price stickers. It was very difficult for us to scan them at the new rates.
We hardly have space to stand and where will we stock the empty bottles. They should have analysed the space in each shop before announcing this.