In Goa, pay up Rs 2000 if caught drinking alcohol, cooking in public

Goa's legislative assembly on Thursday passed a bill to amend a state tourism law and make cooking and drinking alcohol in public places, including beaches and breaking of glass bottles in public, a criminal offence with fines of Rs 2,000.

According to amendment to the Goa Tourist Places (Protection and Maintenance) Act, 2001, individual offenders will be from now onwards fined Rs. 2,000 for offences and if the offences are committed by more than one person, the group will have to pay Rs. 10,000.

Goa Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo had on January 15 said there had been a decline in the number of tourists, including those from other countries, to the state and blamed the dip on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar not imposing a ban on drinking alcohol on the beaches.

"The tourism department is responsible. Our Chief Minister is responsible; he should have implemented an order banning the drinking of alcohol on beaches. We have requested him on several occasions," Lobo said, adding that drinking of alcohol on beaches should be made a punishable offence.

However, last year in July, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced that his government would soon be issuing a notification regarding imposing a heavy fine on drinking alcohol in public.

"Mind you, there will be a heavy fine if you are found drinking (in public) from the month of August. We're issuing a notification very soon. I intend to do it before August, so that we can implement it from August 15," Parrikar had said in a function at Panjim.