Chennai: Thousands of people are going to lose jobs after the closure of bars and liquor vends along the highways as per the order of the Supreme Court, enforcement of which began in Tamil Nadu along with other states on Saturday.

Prominent hotel associations have decried the ban and said there were going to be layoffs as one of the lucrative businesses vanished with the Supreme Court order. But, it is not limited to Tamil Nadu alone as the culture of drinking hubs along the highways, closer to state borders, is a national phenomenon.

As per the initial impact report, coming from Tiruchirapalli, 1240 shops vending liquor and renowned hotels serving liquor and bars dotted on the highways shut shop today. At a rough count, some 500 workers lost their livelihood today and this is only the beginning, say industry sources.

And this only from one of the districts of Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, the state government, that earns a huge revenue from liquor sales across the state had pleaded with the SC for relaxation but to no avail.

Usually located outside cities and towns, high end bars were popular and profitable for the owners and provided employment to many. Now this avenue will be forever gone with the Apex court order.

Many owners of the liquor vends located on the highways felt that it was not feasible to shift to inside the cities or in smaller towns.

Tamil Nadu had also witnessed an anti-alcohol campaign and the then chief minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa had also promised phased prohibition in the state. Her half-hearted implementation of the prohibition began with an order shutting down some 500 TASMAC shops, which was seen as a token gesture.

There is no way for the owners to escape the SC order on closure of liquor vends on highways, applicable also to hotels and bars.