Calming The ‘High’ Tides: Goa Cabinet Okays Rs 2,000 Fine, 3 Months In Jail For Drinking Liquor In Public On Beaches

The Goa cabinet has approved new regulations on Thursday (24 January) that provide for fines of upto Rs two thousand and/or imprisonment of upto three months for those who consume alcohol or cook in public on Goa’s beaches, reports Economic Times.

The amendments to the Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) Act, 2001, will now be placed before the state assembly which begins its budget session on 29 January. “We have brought this amendment for those who indulge in breaking bottles on the beach, cooking and drinking alcohol in public places like our beaches," said Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar.

"Nobody can drink alcohol on our beaches and tourist places any more. Bottles cannot be carried there. Food also cannot be cooked in the open. All these offences will attract a fine of Rs 2,000. If the fine is not paid, an offence can be registered. The offender can be arrested and imprisoned for three months,” he added.

Improving Tourism Potential

It is alleged that a certain section of tourists litters the beaches with empty alcohol bottles and food packages. This negatively impacts the aesthetics of the beaches and results in a reduced inflow of foreign travellers to Goa.

“It’s not that we can stop low end tourists from coming to Goa. But you have to control the behaviour of tourists. When Indians go overseas, they won’t be spitting around the place or running around without proper clothes or drinking on the roads and what not,” said Savio Messias, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), an industry body, to Hindustan Times.

Also Read: No Country For Visitors? How India Can Come Good On Its Tourism Potential