VASCO
According to the government’s notification, all licensed premises selling liquor and consumption of liquor in public places within panchayat areas involved in elections will be closed on June 10, while dry days are also notified for the entire State on June 11 (polling) and from 8 am till midnight on June 13 (counting).
While towns in other talukas of the State will essentially have only two dry days on June 11 and 13, the situation is different in Mormugao taluka, comprising Vasco town and seven panchayats, which will have all three dry days.
This is because, the Supreme Court’s order banning the sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways since April 1 has effectively left the entire Vasco city without a single liquor outlet.
Vasco city has two highways running parallel to each other and the narrow geographic area makes it impossible to have bars, taverns and retail/wholesale liquor outlets beyond the 500-metre mark of the nearest highway.
And with a population well over the 20,000-mark, Vasco city simply cannot get a relaxation to enable liquor outlets to operate beyond 220 metres from the highway.
As a result, the entire Mormugao taluka will have three dry days on June 10, 11 and 13. Incidentally, people in Mormugao taluka who desire to buy or consume alcohol on June 10 will have to move out of the taluka and travel to the nearest cities of Panaji and Margao.
