On drinking in public…

PANJIM: Even as the North District police warned they would arrest people found drinking in open places, Goa Excise Department is awaiting an official communication from the State government specifying the public areas where liquor consumption will be banned. “The government has to decide or notify the public places where liquor consumption will be banned. Only then Excise Department will enter into the exercise to act against the violators,” an Excise officer said. The officer clarified that the advisory issued by the police will empower only the police to act on it. “We cannot interfere with the order,” he added. The previous government had decided to ban liquor consumption at a few spots like religious places, and amended the Excise Duty Act, 1964, to make penal provisions for people drinking in places identified as ‘No Alcohol Consumption Zones’.