Team Herald

PANJIM : Surla Action Committee (SAC) on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the North Goa Collectorate demanding the permanent closure of bars and liquor shops in Surla situated on the border of Goa-Karnataka.

North Goa Collector Levinson Martins had banned the sale and serving of liquor for 30 days in Surla which comes under the Thane Dongurli panchayat in Sattari.

“For the past several years we have been facing a number of problems and breach of peace in our village due to the bars and restaurants operating there. We have been agitating on and off against this nuisance created by Karnataka tourists and local travellers travelling on the Chorla-Belgaum road. The villagers have tried to resolve this issue mutually among the bar owners, however, nothing happened,” Surla Action Committee, President Ganu Gaonkar said.

He added, “There have also been mysterious incidents, including suspected murders, in and around the village. At least four bodies have been found in recent years after tourists sitting in thickly wooded areas to drink end up fighting.”

He said that students are also affected and troubled by the tourists as the bars are situated extremely close to the schools and added that if a survey is conducted it would be found that most accidents on the Goa-Belgaum highway are caused due to alcohol consumption from bars of Surla.

“Surla is a border village wherein before reaching Surla people have to get inside Karnataka and Maharashtra area. The bar owners and liquor mafias take advantage of this and smuggle large quantity of liquor and sell in nearby Karnataka villages,” he said.

 so also since the village is just 500 mts away from the Goa-Karnataka main road all the travellers just step in to Surla to drink.”

SAC has demanded the permanent closure of bars and liquor shops if within the collectors powers or else place this before the government.