Chennai,  The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC), which runs state government-owned liquor outlets, saw a record sale of over Rs 252 crore a day before the lockdown was imposed on Sunday.

A TASMAC release said it was the second time in April this year that the corporation's liquor sales had crossed the Rs 250-crore mark in a day. On April 3, three days ahead of the state Assembly polls, sales had touched the Rs 260-crore mark.

The Chennai zone comprising Chennai, Chengalpet and Tiruvallar had liquor sales of Rs 58.3 crore on Saturday and Madurai zone had sales of Rs 49.5 crore. Salem zone sold liquor worth Rs 47.8 crore while Coimbatore and Salem zones collectively had a sale of Rs 97 crore.

The high-end TASMAC outlets, which sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in major malls and shopping complexes in the state, are closed from Monday as the state government has instructed closing down of all malls and shopping complexes to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.

TASMAC generally has a sale of Rs 130 to 140 crore on Saturdays but this Saturday it was one-and-a-half times the regular sale due to the lockdown.