The dharna continued for hours before finally coming to an end.

Tamil Nadu has seen innumerable protests over the demand that liquor stores operated by TASMAC, the government chain, be shut down.

The state has been witness to everything, from peaceful dharnas to protesters ransacking liquor stores and destroying cases full of alcohol bottles. There have even been instances of women demanding the closure of TASMAC liquor shops clashing with drunk men.

Now, lovers of the tipple are fighting back, at least in Kanyakumari. A group of close to 100 men on Monday sat on a dharna in front of a liquor store on Kanyakumari's Saral Road.

The shop had been shut down by the government following a series of protests by local residents, who alleged that the presence of the store was the reason behind an increase in criminal activities in the area.

Displeased by the government's move, patrons of the liquor store staged a sit-in protest in front of the shop and even started drinking on the road.

The men claim that the closure of the liquor shop has inconvenienced them as they are now forced to drive to alcohol vends located farther away. This is a problem, the men say, since they are often caught and fined by the police for drunken driving while on their way back from these shops.

As the men continued with their protest, they were soon waylaid by local women residents who began a counter-agitation demanding that the Saral Road TASMAC shop remain shut.

The situation grew even more heated when a local AIADMK councillor reportedly joined the the pro-liqour store protesters and asked, "Those who don't want TASMAC, are they also ready to [give up] freebies such as ration rice, pension fund, free laptops and gold for thali (mangasutra)?"

The protests, which continued for hours, finally came to an end after the police intervened and dispersed the men and women.

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