ELVINO ARAUJO
VASCO
Whether it was the ban on mining or the recent ban on liquor sales, Vasco has suffered directly. And now the likelihood of a dry day on the occasion of Sao Joao on June 24 and also the rumblings of beef ban come as dampener for revelers and revelries in the port town.
MINING BAN
When mining was halted in 2012, Vasco was among the most affected areas in the State, even though it did not have a single mine in the city. The ban led to a severe drop in cargo activity at the MPT, leaving many facilities in the port underutilised at the time.
A halt in the activity had also led to a virtual shut down of the barge industry in Vasco. While barges were left unused, the many barge repairing facilities around Vasco were left without business, leading to several direct and indirect job losses.
LIQUOR BAN
The Supreme Court order banning liquor sale within 500 metres of national and state highways from April 1 has effectively left Vasco city without a single liquor outlet and all 100-odd licence holders in the city were forced to shut down operations.
This is because Vasco city has two highways running parallel to each other and the narrow geographic area made it impossible to have bars, taverns and retail/wholesale liquor outlets beyond the 500-metre mark of the nearest highway.
And since its population is well over the 20,000-mark, Vasco city simply could not get a relaxation to enable liquor outlets to operate beyond 220 metres from the highway.
As a result, the SC order has effectively made it impossible to have a single liquor outlet anywhere in the city, leaving hundreds of families without jobs in the town. Those wanting to purchase alcohol are forced to travel to villages outside Vasco, such as Bogmalo and Chicalim.
SAO JOAO
REVELRIES
People in Vasco felt that the dry day announced for revelries at Sao Joao on June 24, on account of the panchayat polls on June 25, would not affect their city since Vasco is a municipal area and would not go to polls.
Sao Joao is a popular festival celebrated in and around Vasco, with various groups such as Fantasy Boys of Baina, Bhute Bhat Club, the Vaddem Boys and Revellers of Vaddem celebrating the event on a grand scale.
But procuring and consuming alcohol during these public revelries in Vasco would be more difficult than expected. While all bars and liquor vends in Vasco have been shut down, purchasing liquor in villages around Vasco, such as Chicalim and Bogmalo, would not be possible as these villages would be declared dry days on account of the panchayat polls.
On account of this peculiar situation, revelers and groups celebrating Sao Joao festivities in Vasco would be forced to buy liquor from Panaji or Margao, else they would have to buy liquor from neighbouring villages three days prior to the panchayat polls.
BEEF BAN THREATS
Threats by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to ban cow slaughter and beef consumption in the State caused panic among beef traders in Vasco, who feared further job losses in the city.
“Vasco was first hit by a mining ban for almost five years and a second jolt cames in the form of a ban on liquor outlets within 500 metres of national and state highways, which further had an impact on Vasco’s economy,” said Tousif Shaikh, a beef trader from Vasco.
“The latest is a threat from VHP that they are going to forcefully ban cow slaughter and beef consumption in Goa. This has created fear among beef traders as several shops in Vasco would lose their business. Each shop employs about three-four workers and they too would lose jobs,” Shaikh added.
