Tipplers crowd Tasmac shops ahead of complete lockdown in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: The city residents don’t seem to be panicking at the news of complete lockdown anymore. However, tipplers seem to be an exception and they were seen crowding Tasmac outlets on Saturday to stock enough liquor for Sunday, when the district administration has announced the total lockdown to control Covid-19 spread.
While stalls selling meat and fish were kept open till 9pm, they didn’t report any rush on the day.Traders said while the sale was normal throughout the day, the same picked up after 5pm, as people turned out for purchase after work. They attributed the low turnout to the Tamil month of Purattasi.
J Aakash, a resident of Ukkadam, said he would usually purchase only fresh meat. “But given the complete lockdown, I decided to purchase meat today (Saturday). We have some relatives visiting us on Sunday. We also purchased some fish, as the prices were reasonable.”
The malls and other commercial areas in the city witnessed only a normal crowd on the day. Things were not different at commercial hubs such as Oppanakara Street and Gandhipuram.
“There was a decent crowd and the sales were also good. But it is usual on Saturdays. There was no increase in crowd because of the total lockdown on Sunday,” said a manager of a garments showroom at Brookefields Mall.