MARGAO
Can a man fly like a crow from a bridge to have a peg or two of whisky or simply gulp down a bottle of beer in a nearby bar or tavern?
Sounds irrational and absurd. But, the State Excise department has apparently thought that the crow fly distance yardstick instead of the accessible road, is the right way to check the location of bars and taverns to implement the Supreme Court’s order banning bar and liquor outlets located 500 metres away from the National and State highways.
What had prompted Excise officials to opt for the crow fly distance method instead of the accessible road to get the exact location of the establishments remains unknown, more so when the Apex Court did not insist on particular mode for arriving at the 500 metres distance. But, one thing is clear that hundreds of bar and liquor outlets would have got the relief if the Excise had to measure the 500-metre distance via the accessible road “ a road that is used by any prospective customer to make to a particular bar or tavern.
In the commercial capital itself, over a hundred bars would have got the much needed respite if the Excise had to settle for the accessible road yardstick. In fact, around 20 bar and liquor outlets are today facing closure along the Khareband locality because of the bitter truth that the Excise has measured the 500 metre distance with the crow fly distance from the Margao flyover. A host of bar and liquor outlets are facing the axe in Khareband and Old Station road for the simple reason that the measure has been carried out from the flyover by employing the crow fly distance yardstick.
Says Xavier Fernandes, a bar owner and leader of the Goa Bars Association: “Bar and liquor outlets in the Khareband locality would have been saved had the Excise officials taken the accessible road into account. Our plea to take the accessible road into account was not considered by the authorities.”
Xavier insisted that customers come to the bar and liquor outlets only through the motorable and accessible road and do not jump from bridges or fly like birds. ‘The Excise ought to have this into consideration before opting for crow fly distance yardstick,” he argued.
When The Goan contacted Salcete taluka officials to shed light on the yardstick employed by the authorities to measure the 500-metre distance, an official pointed out that the crow fly distance was employed since the Excise Act insists on the radius to ascertain the distance.
What has further agitated the bar owners is the inordinate delay by the government to give relief to the beleaguered owners by adopting the accessible road yardstick to measure the 500-metre distance. Says Excise Commission Menino D’Souza: After receiving representations from various quarters on the issue, we have forwarded the same to the government for a decision, with a request to seek opinion from the Law department whether we can dispense with the aerial survey and go with the accessible road survey. We are still awaiting further government directions on this count.”
