No trained staff to monitor them, says Tasmac official

CHENNAI: The ambitious installation of liquor vending machines in Tasmac elite shops is expected to face several roadblocks including finding dedicated staff to oversee the automated equipment.

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac), the monopoly in selling liquor in the State, has installed liquor vending machines at 4 elite shops in the city malls.

As there was no official inauguration after establishing the vending machines in malls, Tasmac officials have circulated a video, which demonstrates how to get liquor from the machine. A senior Tasmac official said that liquor shop supervisors and assistants were not confident about handling the machine, as they had not received proper training in handling this new technology.

Claiming that authorities were planning to install another 10 vending machines in selected elite liquor shops, he added, “Maintaining both regular sales and monitoring these machines will be difficult especially during festival times as there is less staff.”

The official also said that customers will be unable to choose a brand from the machine as it’d have only liquor from one company only.

“There are no proper guidelines on how to call service engineers if the machine becomes faulty,” he pointed out. “The machines do not have provisions to check the age of the consumer, as transactions can be done by anyone.”

On the other hand, high-level authorities claim that the goal of installing vending machines is to prevent MRP violations. “If that’s the case, then vending machines should be installed in all the 5,300 liquor outlets across the State,” opined the Tasmac official.