Goa will ban consumption of liquor in public places and issue a notification by next month.

PANAJI: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar said here on Sunday that the state government has decided to ban consumption of liquor in public places and would issue a notification by next month.

“If someone wants to drink (liquor), they should drink inside and not in public places. In the next 15 days, I will hold meetings with government officials to ban the consumption of liquor at public places,” Parrikar said at a ‘Swachch Bharat’ function here. He said the government will also impose fines or cancel licences of liquor shops that allow people to drink near the shops.

“Liquor shops will face the music if people are found drinking in the open spaces near the shop,” Parrikar said.

He said people sit along roadsides and drink, and after drinking they break the bottles on the road, which creates nuisance.

Last year, the Goa government had amended the Excise Duty Act, 1964, to impose penalties on people drinking in select public places identified as ‘No Alcohol Consumption Zones’ and on beaches .

In May this year, police had started a crackdown on people found drinking in public places. Police have also made several arrests over the past few months.

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In Video: Goa to ban consumption of liquor at public places: Manohar Parrikar