Panaji, Jan 16 (TOI): Deputy speaker and Calangute BJP MLA Michael Lobo on Tuesday came out strongly against his own government, particularly against chief minister Manohar Parrikar, for inaction against tourists drinking on the state’s beaches. He said Parrikar was “100% responsible” as he had failed to issue the necessary orders to ban consumption of liquor on beaches, despite Lobo himself raising the issue several times.
“Domestic tourists think every girl they see on the beach is available. They get drunk and do whatever they want because they can carry any amount of (alcohol) bottles onto the beaches. They can break bottles on the beach and just walk away. The tourism department is responsible for this and our chief minister is responsible for this. He is 100% responsible because he should have brought order. He has not brought order in spite of me telling him at least 50 times. I have been raising the same issue for the past three years,” the deputy speaker told reporters at the police headquarters.
Stop visitors from cooking on Goa’s roadsides: Lobo
He said that in the absence of an order banning drinking on beaches, such tourists were only multiplying in number, posing as a deterrent to ‘good’ tourists.
“In the end, what we get are people who come to Goa thinking that it is only a liquor, drugs and prostitution destination,” he said. “If the chief minister issues an order, it will take at least two to three months for people from the rest of the country to understand that these things cannot be done in Goa.
"In September 2017, Parrikar had said the state government would ban consumption of alcohol in public places and that a notification would be issued in the following month. Till date, however, no such notification has been issued.
Apart from an order prohibiting drinking on beaches, the deputy speaker demanded another order debarring people from creating nuisances in public areas. “For instance, some tourists simply park their vehicles by roadsides and begin cooking. This has to stop,” he said.
When contacted, tourism minister Manohar Azgaonkar said, “If there are instances of tourists drinking and breaking alcohol bottles on beaches, send us photographs and we will take action.”