The state will reportedly be alcohol-free in ten-years time. The question to be asked is can tourism survive in a state which is a very popular destination if prohibition is introduced? Well in the view of the Kerala government is that it can. This is some food for thought for Goa.
Goa may be a favourite tourist destination where liquor flows freely, but then the free availability of liquor is having an adverse affect on the youth and is leading to broken families. The number of people being treated at the GMC hospital with alcohol-related disease is on the rise.
The state needs to promote tourism which is the prime revenue earner for the state. But it should not be at the expense of the health of the youth and the local populace. Implementation of total prohibition in the state may not be possible. But then the government needs to put in place certain restrictions on the consumption of alcohol, the free-flow of which is having an adverse affect on the youth of the state as even school students are falling prey to the vice.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
