From today onwards, anyone found drinking in public places including beaches in Goa will be arrested.
These instructions were given after a meeting between members of general public, representatives from the tourism sector and the police at Calangute police station regarding drinking in Goa. North Goa Superintendent of Police Karthik Kashyap was part of the meeting of shack owners, prominent citizens and hoteliers.
Kashyap said that he has given instructions to arrest people found drinking in open under section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The meeting was attended by around 60-70 people, including beach shack owners and people in the tourism trade. During the meeting held in Calangute on Wednesday, citizens complained about drinking on beaches as well other public places and no action being taken against them.
“Tourists, who drink on beaches, either leave the bottles on the beach or throw them into the water. The bottles break and the shards of glass get imbedded in the sand and end up causing various degrees of injuries to tourists and locals alike,” said a citizen.
The gathering also highlighted the menace of tourists consuming liquor on the beach at night and creating a ruckus by drinking in Goa.
“There’s no control over the problem in the evening where there are hardly any police around,” said another citizen.
“We have seen many incidents of swimmers getting injured by broken glass bottles as also beach walkers getting cut on their feet. There’s no control over the problem in the evening where there are hardly any police around,” said a shack owner.
“SP 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.
Source: ToI
