Team Herald
PORVORIM: Asserting that the State government has adopted ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against drug trafficking, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the House that the government is committed towards making Goa a ‘drug free’ State.
Sawant made this assurance during the Question Hour and added that the police will not tolerate drug trafficking in this ‘tourism State’. He mentioned that to create a strong deterrent impact against the drug activities, the drug -prone areas are kept under continuous surveillance
“Government has adopted Zero tolerance policy against drugs trafficking. Intelligence channels have been activated. Raids are being conducted on receiving specific inputs,” he said adding that bar, restaurants and shacks along the drug-prone belt are subjected to surprise checks.
“The government’s seriousness towards the matter is known by the fact that there is 99.75 per cent detection rate. More than 2,900 cases have been registered under NDPS Act,” he said responding to a question tabled by BJP MLA Francis Silveira.
Silveira said that the youth are indulging in drug use at secluded place, while police are reluctant to take the action. He said that hilly areas in his St Andre constituency are drug-prone areas.
Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco also said that the drugs were being openly sold in few of the restaurants in the beach belt including that at Anjuna. He named Curlies restaurant in Anjuna as one of the drug den, where the MLA alleged that a table is booked for drug trafficking at a cost of Rs 70,000.
He also alleged that the drugs was being sold in a college, but later his statement was expunged by Speaker Rajesh Patnekar
Fumed over the allegation that drugs is available in schools, Sawant said that wrong picture is being projected that the drugs are being sold in the colleges of the state, which is absolutely wrong. “You are raising question on education system and are creating panic,” Sawant said.
He added that the notion that drugs are available in the colleges has been wrongly projected and urged legislators not to cast aspiration on the education system or the institution premises without any proof.
The CM however, requested parents and citizens to be alert and inform police.
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Home Dept to upgrade Forensic Lab at Verna
Chief Sawant also said that the Home Department has moved a proposal for upgradation of Forensic Science Laboratory at Verna, where currently there is no facility to analyse drugs other than Charas and Ganja. He said that the process for procurement of narcotic standard reference samples has been initiated so as to make the narcotic division of forensic science laboratory fully functional in the next six months.
