Next time you plan your Goa trip, make sure drinking an ice-cold beer on a beach is not one on your agenda.
A Bill introduced by Chief Minister laxmikant Parsekar to amend the State Excise Duty law now seeks to ban drinking in public areas. A violation of the proposed norm and drinking in the to-be-formed ‘no alcohol consumption zones’ will attract a fine of up to Rs 10,000, the Bill has also proposed, while also re-designating Feni, a popular cashew-distilled drink from a country liquor to a heritage drink.
“The Government is receiving many complaints regarding consumption of liquor in open spaces, public places, beaches, public roads, State and National Highways, mostly by tourists. Upon consumption of liquor, the bottles and cans are strewn around causing environmental degradation and causing harm to
pedestrians accessing the area,” said the Goa Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was introduced on Monday during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Goa legislative Assembly by Parsekar.
“Such people after being in an inebriated state, cause nuisance to the general public, disturb peace in the area and cause tension, thereby posing a law and order problem
on a regular basis,” said
the amendment to the legislation.
The newly-amended Bill mandates that no alcohol should be consumed in soon to-be areas designated as ‘No Alcohol Consumption Zone’. “For first such offence an amount not less than Rs 1,000 and for any second and subsequent offences an amount not less than Rs 2,000 will be imposed on the offenders,” said the Bill, while adding that the fine could go up to Rs 10,000 depending on the discretion of the penalising officer.
Drinking in public as a public menace has been an issue discussed in the State legislative Assembly on many occasions, with legislators across party lines demanding a ban on it.
The State has a liberal liquor regime and cheap alcohol is an attractive draw for tourists, especially from neighbouring States of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The same amendment also proposes the elevation of Feni to the status of a heritage drink bringing it on par with
other globally-recognised alcoholic drinks like Tequila from Mexico and Scotch from Scotland.
Almost synonymous with Goa, Feni is manufactured from the juice extracted from the cashew apple, which is first fermented and then doubled distilled traditionally. Coconut Feni on the other hand is produced from fermented toddy, tapped from coconut palm and then distilled in a process similar to its cashew cousin.
Both the drinks are extremely popular in Goa and are a part of the tropical State’s socio-cultural practices. Over four lakh bulk litres of cashew Feni is distilled in Goa every year, according to State excise department statistics.
“Having considered multi-faceted uses of Feni in cultural traditions, cuisines, medicinal purpose, etc, which is synonymous to the Goan identity, the Government of Goa has decided to separately define Feni and establish its unique and well-deserving status by declaring this liquor as the heritage spirit of Goa,” the amendment says.
Incidentally, Feni is also the first product from Goa to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) and is also the first liquor in the country to obtain the same. “GI benefits to the primary and traditional stakeholders, enabling trade in world markets and positioning it on equal footing to world famous Scotch and Tequila,” the amendment says.