At Coimbatore airport, Prohibition and Excise Minister Vignesh gave an interview to reporters. Speaking then, he said, “I saw that the court has ordered that the police can register a case if extra money is collected at Tasmac shops. I have not yet read it fully in relation to that. I will look at it and respond. Foreign liquor is already available in liquor shops. No one should have a monopoly in this sector. It is our duty to provide what customers want.”
They had already asked about Budweiser beer. The request for Foster’s stock will be considered. Today, I spoke in detail in the Assembly about the online system. This online system has been introduced to ensure that there is no cash transaction. Even though scan, GPay, and similar options already existed, there were issues with ten-rupee and twenty-rupee notes. To prevent that, this online procedure has been introduced. It has come into effect from today. Today, online booking was working. Today alone, more than 700 people have ordered and purchased. There are also some problems in placing orders. This is an experiment. We are observing what problems arise in this.

This is not about making things convenient for drinkers. It takes time to make a payment through GPay, and we have reduced that time. They ask for a bill. This provides an option for that. Only when the QR code is shown can it be known what they have ordered. We have created an opportunity to search for and buy liquor varieties online, making it possible to buy the liquor one wants. In some shops, only certain brands are sold. They try to sell only certain liquors. Based on those complaints, the online system was introduced.
You can find out which liquor varieties are available in which shops. From the customers’ perspective, it is the responsibility of the shop operators to say which brands are available. Customers get to know what stock is there. In the past, no effort was made to regulate this sector. We are making efforts. Providing facilities does not mean encouraging drinking,” he said.
