Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has ordered the closure of 717 State-run liquor shops (TASMAC shops) located within 500 m from educational institutions and places of worship across the State within two weeks.

An official release said, of these 717 shops, 276 are located within 500 m from various places of worship, 186 near educational institutions, and 255 near bus terminuses. The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) operates 4,765 retail liquor outlets across the State.

There has been widespread demand, especially from women and a few political parties in the State, that all the liquor shops in the should be closed.

On May 10, Mr. Vijay was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu along with nine Cabinet Ministers.

On his first day, Mr. Vijay signed three files, one of which was to grant 200 units of free electricity to domestic consumers, who consume upto 500 units of electricity bimonthly.

He signed the files shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, in the presence of his fans and supporters gathered at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai.

On May 11, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister took oath as a legislator in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Along with him, his Cabinet Ministers, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, former Chief Ministers Edappadi K. Palaniswami (AIADMK) and O. Panneerselvam (now DMK), and 218 others took oath as members of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, in the presence of Pro-tem Speaker M.V. Karuppaiah.

(With PTI inputs)