The Goa government has decided to ban consumption of alcohol at a few spots such as places of worship and heritage sites, among others. The Excise Department of the state will impose the restrictions in November, PTI reported on Thursday.
Superintendent of Excise Department, Satyawan Bhivshet said, “Excise department is in the process of implementing the recent amendment to State Excise Act which includes ban on drinking at some public spaces. The ban is most likely to come in force from mid-November this year.” The Bharatiya Janata Party government is believed to have taken the step as part of its initiative to promote the state as a “family tourist destination”.
In August, the state government introduced amendments to the Excise Duty Act, 1964, and made drinking in places identified as ‘No Alcohol Consumption Zones’ a punishable offence. People caught drinking in such places can now be fined up to Rs 10,000, the minimum fine for such violation being Rs 1,000.
The news agency quoted another excise official, who said the government was setting up special squads to crackdown on violators. The Laxmikant Parsekar government had earlier said, “The government is receiving a number of complaints of consumption of alcohol in open spaces, public spaces, beaches, public roads, state and national highways, mostly by visiting tourists.” The government also said that the used cans and bottles of alcohol were causing environmental degradation. They said people inebriated state were causing nuisance leading to law and order problems in the state.
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