TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Tourism Department has taken a “resolution” to strive to keep Goa drugs and prostitution free, in an impromptu ‘new year’s resolution’ taken during a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
Chairman of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, Nilesh Cabral, Director of Tourism Nikhil Desai and Director of Information and Publicity Swapnil Naik said it was their combined resolution to strive to keep the state drugs and prostitution free.
“We are here taking a resolution to take full efforts and will be taking steps to ensure to act on it,” Parulekar said.
Reacting to recent media reports regarding the presence of drugs and prostitution in the state, Parulekar said that he would like to clarify that neither he nor his department supported either of the illicit businesses, but rather was all for ‘freeing’ Goa from the tourism related evils.
“The tourism department is against such drugs and prostitution which take place in the state and we will strive to free Goa from these evils.
He however again said that if drug peddlers sell drugs outside the festival venues neither the police nor he as tourist minister could do much.
As many as 4.5 to 5 lakh tourists have visited the State between December 20 and January 1, Tourism Minister Parulekar estimated.
“We do not have all the data with us, but we believe that there could be as estimated of 4.5 to 5 lakh during the week preceeding new year right up to the big day,” Parulekar said.
The Minister however could not offer a concrete roadmap or target date on how he would go about achieving the ‘drugs and prostitution free Goa’ resolution even as he said that it was the primary responsibility of the police especially the Anti-Narcotics Cell and that they were doing what they could with the 150-odd Indian Reserve Battalion policemen under their charge.
Parulekar also said that the there were as many as 32 Tourism projects that were pending in the state that would be expedited through the year.
Chipping in, Chairman of the GTDC Nilesh Cabral promised that tourism related infrastructure including parking amenities, bath and changing rooms as well as beautification would be completed “before the remaining three and a half years of government tenure.”
