Team Herald
PANJIM: The Shiv Sena in Goa has opposed to holding Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival in the State alleging that such events are often used for drug trafficking
“The State government should not allow Electronic Dance Music festival this year, which would be the first step to clean up tourism of the drug menace. A special squad under Crime Branch or CBI should be formed to investigate the nexus between local police and drug paddlers. Sena has been vocal in the past about the increasing drug menace in the coastal belt like Calangute, Anjuna and Pernem due to utter failure of local police stations to curb it,” Shiv Sena’s Goa Spokeswoman Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik said, in a statement issued on Sunday.
Naik claimed that police stations in the coastal belt nab only the small fries, while the kingpins of the drug trade run the business freely. “Sena is against narco-tourism and any attempt by the police to shield them. As a part of our demand, we want that the EDM festival which is promoted in the name of tourism should not be allowed,” she said.
Naik said that figures provided by Tourism department shows that Goa has been receiving six million tourists. “For the population of 1.5 million, six million is a big number to handle due to inadequate infrastructure. State police department and also traffic cell is kept busy during the entire week when EDM is held,” Naik reasoned out.
She has also demanded that State government form a special squad under Crime Branch to eradicate the drug menace from the beaches of Calangute, Anjuna and Pernem.
