Drunks at Martintar

Ronnie Chang, Nadi

The continuous spilling of intoxicated and drunk patrons from bars, taverns and nightclubs from Martintar, Nadi, onto our streets and side roads after 5am is a real worry.

With a view to address our levels of poverty, law and order, domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, etc in the name of humanity, I make this fervent plea to all authorities and brains-trust concerned to review their business trading hours.

There is no real need today for a 5am closure. Please, close all our public bars by 1am. Furthermore, bottle shops or liquor outlets should close by 10pm, in my view. I appeal for support from our own Nadi Town Council including the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and industries. A pro-active approach is warranted with urgency.

It is scary and most unsettling to see the behaviour of many drunkards along Martintar, Nadi, most mornings after 5am. There appears to be an inadequate number of Police foot patrols when most needed. Do I stand corrected?

Urinating in public is not uncommon. Drinking in public along our footpaths and hidden side roads after 5am is not uncommon as well. It is also not uncommon to find drunkards asleep on footpaths after 5am. This is always a sad sight, and is real. Respectfully, and very sadly, it is the iTaukei community members who are responsible for drinking till well after sunrise. This cold hard truth hurts most peace-loving and lawabiding Martintar residents and those passing by.

Big crowds of drunk patrons spill out onto our main road before 6am on Saturday. For many families, buying daily bread after 5am is no longer safe; very scary and quite intimidating, most days.

I am sure I speak quite confidently for the silent majority.