With 39 TASMAC shops identified for closure across the district, residents in many areas, citing inconvenience caused by the outlets, have demanded their closure and staged protests at several places.

On May 12, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay ordered the closure of 717 TASMAC shops functioning within 500 metres of educational institutions and places of worship across the State. The TASMAC administration in the district identified 39 such shops and has already closed five. However, residents in many areas, including Solar, Kadambur, Ammapettai and Anthiyur, have sought closure of shops functioning in their localities.

Residents of Solar, in a petition submitted to the district administration on Monday (May 18, 2026), said a shop was functioning in the midst of a residential area and close to a hospital, temple, weekly market, bus stop, roundabout and along a road. They alleged that customers visiting the shop squat and sleep outside houses and bakeries, causing hardship to residents, motorists and women in particular. Schoolchildren were also afraid to use the stretch, they claimed. In most areas, the demand for closure of around 10 shops stems from problems allegedly created by visitors to the outlets, residents said.