Goa is known for having the bar on every crossroads, in fact people from outside the state consider Goans as peaceful and high on ‘Spirit’. Right from the olden days “Feni” is the only spirit which is synonymous with Goans. This is also not he hidden fact that sale of liquor is very huge in the state with hundreds of thousands Indian tourist consume as well as carry the Goan liquor considering its cheaper in the state and much better in quality compared to other states in India. Now we will not go into the details of the history as why Goa became the famous liquor state in India which is another subject all together but according to the report published by the local daily, the state has 1 liquor bar for every 2014 persons in Goa.
The fact came into the light due to the protest launched by the women’s groups and anti-alcoholics notwithstanding against the ever growing bar tradition in the state. Goa state has very small population of hardly 15 lakh compared to other states in India and having so many bars in such a tiny place is the issue of concern for the women in the state. According to the figures revealed by the excised department in the state there were around 6900 liquor bars in Goa in 2012 which has grown up to 7200 with around 95 licenses being issued every year, they have also disclosed that around 100 bars have closed down. Here the term bar has been addressed to all the liquor shops / outlets for the retail sale of Indian made foreign liquor and country liquor for consumption. In addition to the above there are there are shops / outlets selling the IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) in packed bottles which has grown up to 1664 in the state from 1,430 in year 2012.
Besides, Goa also has very famous ‘Taverns’ which subsists only in the villages of Goa and sells only country liquors namely Caju Feni, Hurrack and Coconut Feni for consumption. The government has stopped issuing any further licenses to these Taverns or Gadi (as it is known in Goa) due to the lack of the basic facilities such as toilets. The Taverns are very few in number around 160 to be precise, operating in the state.
According to the available information government charges Rs. 25000 year towards the license processing fees for liquor bars while the actual license fees for non-air-conditioned bar varies from Rs. 7000 to Rs. 12000 per year. For “A” class municipalities and coastal villages, the license fee is 12,000; for “B” and “C” class municipalities, it is 6,000; and for other villages, it is 4,000 per annum. The corresponding prices for air-conditioned bars are 22,000, 14,000 and 8,000 respectively.
The social workers like Sabina Martins of organization called Bailancho Saad is against the existing system where government is trying to promote the alcohol just load their coffers, while one being alcoholic, his entire family suffers. “The government is promoting addictions to alcohol, gambling etc as a source of revenue. We are saying that the government needs to promote good human resources and the government is degenerating human resources. Because of one alcohol addict, a woman will not be able to work, a child will not be able to study and that one addict prevents their positive contribution to the economy.”
The numbers are keeping growing and government seems to have no plan to restrict the numbers of bars in Goa. There are numerous issues like time limit restrictions, Age limit restrictions but government is allowing longer period of operation for the cost, by paying the fees of Rs. 50000/- per annum one can keep the bars open up to 1am and in coastal areas and A class municipal areas this limit can be extended up to 4am by paying additional whopping Rs. 2,50,000 per year.
While clarifying the stand of excise department the excise commissioner said that their department takes optimum care while granting the licenses to the vendors of wine shops, primarily they conduct the interviews with the applicants following to that they advise them on various do’s and don’ts like not selling the loose alcohol and no sale of liquor to the underage people and no liquor to already drunk person.
Though the consumption of liquor results in domestic violence in most of the places in India but Goa is the lone place which does not approve of this fact, nevertheless, it cannot be denied that consumption of liquor has adverse effects on the society even if it is consumed in limits. The concern is genuine and people of Goa alone need to decide if we really need so many bars around us. If you think yes please do let us know why and if you think no please specify.
Source: TNN
Edited by: Goa Prism News Desk
