Tipplers pay more for poor facilities

CHENNAI: Cramped space, stinking rooms, unhygienic food and filthy environment and much more greet a customer as he enters a TASMAC bar in the city.These bars, started off by the DMK regime to cater to the ‘common man’, have literally turned into rat holes, forcing liquor consumers to compromise on several things with hygiene topping  the list. “I’m happy to spend a little more at pubs, bars in restaurants, and star hotels rather than entering a dingy bar attached to a TASMAC shop,” a youngster, not willing to be named, said. “It is definitely expensive in such places, but the ambience in the TASMAC bars is not ideal for boozing,” he added. The young man says there is a gradual shift, especially among youngsters, who now want to go to hygienic private bars instead of TASMAC shops.Another major factor that ails these ‘janata’ bars is the unfair prices of eatables. While the cost of a disposable plastic glass is `3, the fast food items sold at these bars are priced on par with bigger hotels, though the quality and the hygiene leave a lot to be desired. “Even cigarettes are sold at a premium here. A five-rupee Wills is sold for not less than six or seven rupees,” said one customer angrily. It is the middle class that continues to patronise these TASMAC bars, as those from lower income group prefer to move to any other available open space.Cleanliness and hygiene have always been alien to the TASMAC bars, with waste strewn on the floor and the stink being the symbol of its existence. “In fact, this is the key reason why people welcome the outlets that have no bars,” a tippler said.