The Goa government’s decision to allow bars and retail liquor outlets to remain open until 4 a.m. was criticized Thursday by a leading women’s rights organisation.
Bailancho Saad, an NGO, condemned the government, in a statement issued here, for issuing the notification allowing bars to remain open till 4 am. It said this will badly impact the lives of women whose husbands and other members of the family have taken to drinking.
“The government hopes to make money by eating the incomes of the families, which is not a good development model. Men, who squandered their earnings in bars till 11 p.m., will spend more family savings on drinks. There will be more drunken men prowling the streets to make Goa more unsafe,” the organisation’s convenor Sabina Martins said.
The government notification, issued April 1, allows liquor vendors and bar operators in coastal villages and towns to remain open till 4 a.m. The decision is expected to give a boost to tourism in the state that prides its night life.
The rule comes at a time when the state is gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for April 12 and was announced on the day the government presented the state budget.
According to a gazette notification issued Tuesday, outlets selling alcohol can remain open till 4 a.m. on payment of a fee of Rs.2 lakh per annum in addition to annual licence fees.
Those liquor vendors who wish to keep their bars open till 1 a.m. will have to pay Rs.50,000 a year.
Bars with a normal licence can remain open for business until 11 p.m.
Taking on the government’s argument that the move at promoting tourism, Martins said: “To promote good Tourism, the state does not need bars open till 4 a.m. It needs 24-hour help desks and police at public places.”
(IANS)