PANAJI
Disclosing the approximate numbers of vends to be affected, Excise Commissioner Menino D’Souza said this was a provisional estimate, as his department’s taluka level teams were still sending final reports to him. A day ago, the excise department had pegged the number of liquor licenses to get affected at 2,700.
This shows that with every passing day the number of liquor licenses, which are likely to shut shop from April 1, is sharply increasing. 3,100 liquor licenses include retail shops selling alcohol, wholesalers, bars, hotels; in short anyone in alcohol business along highways.
Excise department has less than a month now to implement the SC’s order. Meanwhile, the new state government is not likely to be in office before mid-March. Therefore, the new government will have very little time to act on this extremely critical issue plaguing the state.
Overall, there are 11,300 liquor vending licenses in the state of Goa. If 3,100 of these are likely to get affected, this means that 27.4% of total alcohol businesses in Goa are likely to face an axe.
It will have a huge impact on people depending upon alcohol trade, on government which will lose a share of its excise revenue and also on Goa’s image as a tourism destination.
