Goa is a popular beach tourism destination, the easy availability of drugs, especially in the State’s coastal belt, makes it known as a narco tourism hub. During the ongoing monsoon session of the State Legislative Assembly, Opposition and ruling party MLA’s claimed that Goa’s rolling hill slopes and restaurants are the new narcotic consumption hubs in Goa.
BJP MLA Francis Silveira said that the rolling hillsides in his constituency of St Andre have become the new hubs for the consumption of narcotics and claimed that the police are hand in gloves with narcotic users, who are mostly school and college students.
Silveira also said that though everyone is aware that there are drugs being sold in schools and colleges, including the police, they were not responding to complaints.
Sources at NDTV quoted Silveira as saying, “Schools and college students are heading to the hills to consume drugs now. If the police are informed, they tip off the students, who slip away from the area before the cops arrive.”
During the same discussion, Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo claimed that a popular restaurant in Anjuna village in North Goa offered a table full of narcotic cocktails for a booking amount of Rs. 70,000/-.
Reginaldo questioned as to why the police force wasn’t taking any action despite restaurants openly offering drugs.
The Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant said that the police and administration were committed to ending the drug menace in Goa, and urged alert citizens to call the police if they suspect drug sales or consumption in their surroundings.
He also stated that he would order the police to arrest anyone who is seen in forest and hilly areas after sunset.
He also said “We want to make Goa drug free. We want good tourism and a good future for our youth. The government is strict on this”
We hope that the Government takes the required steps to curb this menace and make Goa a paradise it once was.
Source: NDTV
