A group of seven youth went berserk assaulting police constables who were called in by people complaining of nuisance that was being created by the group under the influence of alcohol. Chief minister Pramod Sawant and south Goa Superintendent of Police Arvind Gawas condemned the attack and warned that such acts would not be tolerated, and very rightly so. Attack on policemen should be dealt with severely, and a message should go out loud and clear. Law enforcement is the last line of defence for ordinary citizens who look upon the men-in-uniform during troubled times. It is disgraceful when law keepers are treated with such disdain.
That’s one side of the story. What about the failed system? Is the leniency towards the booze culture backfiring? By turning a blind eye to the growing incidents of public drinking, has the government allowed the system to spiral out of control? Alcohol has been tolerated in a considerable measure, and Goa has cashed on it on the tourism front. A 16.1 per cent rise in excise revenue for December 2019, a time when Goa was mourning the decline of tourism, reflects the flow of booze. The mess left behind after the December-end EDM festival and the New Year parties are testimony to the fact that the government is tolerant of such a ‘free-for-all’ environment.
Despite a ban on drinking and smoking in public places, tourists and local youth have been rampantly flouting rules and partying out in the open. Broken bottles of alcohol scattered over isolated nooks and corners of villages, cities and beaches have been a common sight. The enforcement till now has remained a silent bystander despite legislation in force. Public drinking should have been dealt with an iron hand to act as a deterrent. Selectively treating this issue will never help the larger cause because it’s only getting worse.
Traffic police boasted about challans issued for drunken driving on the intervening night of New Year. And while the focus turned to the roads, several other parts of the State soaked in reckless partying, and nobody cared.
Excessive drinking impairs a person’s judgement. A common warning sign of alcohol abuse is irritability and extreme mood swings. There are signs of aggression and hostility, which could lead to aggravated assaults and even murders. Goans are not alien to these symptoms. The enforcement should have been better equipped to handle the situation at Cuncolim. The two police constables who drove to the site were easily overpowered and assaulted, and subsequently, another two constables who arrived at the scene met with a similar fate.
The Cuncolim incident should be an eye-opener for the government and the police. There needs to be a crackdown on all forms of public drinking, whether they are tourists involved or locals. There can’t be separate set of rules based on seasons, locations and occasions.
