Goa to ban public drinking, fine those creating nuisance

There will be a heavy fine if you are found drinking in the open. We are declaring the notification very soon. I intend to do it before August, so that we can implement it from Aug 15 MANOHAR PARRIKAR, Goa CM

PANAJI: The Goa government will make yet another attempt to ban drinking in public places, including in the open along beaches, as it seeks to tackle increasing public nuisance, chief minister Manohar Parrikar has said.

Local people and tourists will face fines for drinking in the open and littering the beaches or other tourist spots with empty bottles. “There will be a heavy fine if you are found drinking in the open. We are declaring the notification very soon. I intend to do it before August so that we can implement it from August 15,” Parrikar said on Tuesday.

The announcement comes at a time when a village has been contemplating shutting down all liquor vends following nuisance by picnickers.

Parrikar, who had earlier promised to implement the ban on drinking in public but is yet to implement it, said Goa’s popular tourist spots along rivers, creeks and beaches were being increasingly littered with beer bottles.

State tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar too echoed the sentiments and said that tourists who create public nuisance were not the type of tourists that Goa was looking for. “They (those who drink in public and create a nuisance) should be fined as much as possible. We want good tourists, those who follow Goa’s discipline and culture and Goenkarponn (Goanness),” he said.

Parrikar has proposed a fine of ₹2,500 for those creating a nuisance. The issue of public drinking came to the spotlight after a series of incidents involving tourists, ranging from the deaths of tourists and harassment of women by inebriated tourists, to reports of pieces of glass bottles mixed in the sand injuring those walking barefoot on the beach.