Tourists from all over the world travel to Goa considering this place is meant for drinking and merrymaking. In the past that might have been allowed since Goa being the tourist place many things have been overlooked earlier but now the situation seems to be changing. The Goa government have given the free hand to the police to take action against anybody found drinking in the public places and this does not remain limited to the tourists alone, said the sources.
The drinking in public places have been banned but if you are drinking in the restaurants and inside your private premises nobody will stop from doing so. The above decision has been taken to keep control over the nuisance created by the tourists coming down to the state by drinking in public places and littering on the beaches.
Goa Tourism is taking all the efforts to make sure that the beaches in the state remain clean as much as possible and by implementing the above steps the department will be in position put control over the substantial amount of littering done by the tourists on the Goan beaches, said the sources.
The Superintendent of Police Mr. Karthik Kashyap had instructed the police personnel from North Goa to arrest the people found drinking in the public places. The above decision had been taken after the meeting between beach shack owners and other stakeholders in the tourism industry.
People from the north Goa had brought to the notice of police about the nuisance created by the tourists during the nighttime on the beaches after consuming the liquor. Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Karthik Kashyap told the media that, he has given instructions to arrest people found drinking in open under section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The instruction was given after a meeting between members of general public, representatives from the tourism sector and the police at Calangute police station ”Kashyap called upon the general public to inform the police about such incidents so that action can be taken against the offenders,” said a statement issued by the police department. According to the sources, the meeting was attended by around 60-70 people, including beach shack owners and people in the tourism trade. The gathering also highlighted the menace of tourists consuming liquor on the beach at the night time.
Although drinking in public in Goa is not the new story at all and it has been happening from the past but no government or police officers had taken any serious cognisance of the same earlier. It looks like the new coalition government under the leadership of Mr. Parrikar is trying to something different from the mainstream.
Meanwhile, there is a news about several arrests have been made in the north Goa and the tourists found guilty of drinking and lettering on the north Goa beaches have been sent to the police custody. According to the sources, Calangute police along with the tourist police arrested six tourists on Thursday for consuming alcohol in public place and creating a nuisance. All six tourists are in 25-35 age group and were arrested after medical examination, police said. Police said while four tourists were from Karnataka, one was from Delhi and the other from Maharashtra. All six were produced before the judicial magistrate first class in Mapusa, who released them on bail.
The above arrests comes a day after SP (North) Karthik Kashyap directed police to take strict action against those found drinking on beaches and other public places. It sends the loud and clear message to all the people regardless of whether they are tourists or the locals that drinking in the public places will be considered as a crime and the person found guilty will be sent into the jail. Please be careful while partying on the Goan beaches, if you found drinking then your party may end in the police custody. What do you think about this new move made by the Goa government? Please do share your valuable feedback and suggestions.
NEWS SOURCE: TOI
IMAGE SOURCE: AOL
