Not worried about financial loss due to liquor bars' closure, says Chandy

Chennai: Continuing to defend the decision to close down bars in Kerala, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Tuesday said he did not care about the financial loss but worried about the social impact of liquor consumption.

Speaking to reporters at the airport here, Chandy said his government was not bothered about the "considerable loss" of revenue from sales of spirits, but said the social loss was "10 times more than that."

"We will have a considerable loss in revenue but we don't care. The revenue (from liquor sales is) Rs 7,000-9,000 crore but the loss is 10 times more; social loss, damage to families... So, we do not care about the financial loss faced by closing down bars," he said.

Kerala government had recently started moving towards prohibition, deciding to close all bars in the state except those functioning in five star hotels. The Supreme Court had ordered status quo till September 30.