CHENNAI: Ahead of the parliamentary electiuons, recreational clubs and star hotels have for the first time come under the radar of the Election Commission of India which has instructed prohibition and excise departments to ensure Tasmac bars and FL2 and FL3 licence holders are under CCTV camera surveillance.
The instruction is part of measures initiated to keep the expenditure by political parties under watch as well as to check if crimes take place in these places.The commissionerate of prohibition and excise has already instructed clubs and hotels to ensure that CCTV cameras are working and Tasmac has asked its district managers to make sure bars in their districts have CCTV cameras installed.
A Tasmac official, on condition of anonymity, said 90% of Tasmac bars in Chennai and its suburbs already have CCTV cameras as police insist on the outlets obtaining a no-objection certificate. “If election commission flying squads catch someone with huge liquor, it will be easy to find out from where the liquor was procured if the shops and bars have CCTV cameras,” said the official.
It is routine for the ECI to issue such instructions ahead of elections, but inclusion of FL2 licence holders (recreational clubs) and FL3 (hotels) for surveillance for the first time assumes significance.
The number of clubs across TN rose to 448 in the last few years from 125, with Chennai district alone having 104 recreational clubs.
The timings of recreational clubs are from 11am. to 11pm, while Tasmac outlets and bars function from noon to 10 p.m., which can pave the way for the illicit sale of liquor, say industry insiders. Also, several violations have been reported at recreational clubs, such as the serving of liquor to non-members and the retail sale of liquor.
A few months ago, home secretary P Amudha had instructed the directorate of prohibition and excise to initiate action against recreational clubs that violate norms.
When it comes to FL3 licences, TN has 793 licence holders, with Chennai having the maximum number of 175 licences followed by Coimbatore with 115.
The instruction is part of measures initiated to keep the expenditure by political parties under watch as well as to check if crimes take place in these places.The commissionerate of prohibition and excise has already instructed clubs and hotels to ensure that CCTV cameras are working and Tasmac has asked its district managers to make sure bars in their districts have CCTV cameras installed.
A Tasmac official, on condition of anonymity, said 90% of Tasmac bars in Chennai and its suburbs already have CCTV cameras as police insist on the outlets obtaining a no-objection certificate. “If election commission flying squads catch someone with huge liquor, it will be easy to find out from where the liquor was procured if the shops and bars have CCTV cameras,” said the official.
It is routine for the ECI to issue such instructions ahead of elections, but inclusion of FL2 licence holders (recreational clubs) and FL3 (hotels) for surveillance for the first time assumes significance.
The number of clubs across TN rose to 448 in the last few years from 125, with Chennai district alone having 104 recreational clubs.
The timings of recreational clubs are from 11am. to 11pm, while Tasmac outlets and bars function from noon to 10 p.m., which can pave the way for the illicit sale of liquor, say industry insiders. Also, several violations have been reported at recreational clubs, such as the serving of liquor to non-members and the retail sale of liquor.
A few months ago, home secretary P Amudha had instructed the directorate of prohibition and excise to initiate action against recreational clubs that violate norms.
When it comes to FL3 licences, TN has 793 licence holders, with Chennai having the maximum number of 175 licences followed by Coimbatore with 115.