the goan I network
PANAJI
Residents of Goa’s eastern border village of Surla in Sattari taluka on Friday submitted a fresh petition to the Directorate of Panchayats (DoP) asking him to endorse the panchayat’s move to permanently withdraw its NOCs to the bars and liquor shops in its jurisdiction.
Sources said, the DoP was approached as villagers now fear that bar owners may approach him to exercise his quasi-judicial powers and nullify the panchayat’s decision withdrawing the NOCs.
Currently, NOCs have been withdrawn from eight liquor stores in the village on the Goa-Karnataka border.
In the letter submitted to the DoP, villagers have requested the DoP not to give relief to these bar owners, and to uphold the decision taken by the Dongurli Thane Panchayat that withdrew their liquor NOCs. In this manner, the villagers hope that the Goa Excise Department cancels the liquor licenses issued to bar owners.
While highlighting the problems that freely-available alcohol has created in the village, the letter points out that due to the liquor ban in the village imposed by the North Goa Collector for the past two months, there has not been even a single case of drunken driving, or accidents due to the same.
Expressing their pleasure at the outcome of the ban, they say that the village has benefited a lot because of the ban.
The letter submitted by the Surla Village Action Committee (SVAC), lists out reasons for permanent withdrawal of NOC to bars in the village. It also states that the bars violate several rules and the authorities have failed to take cognisance of these violations. Due to excessive drinking and fatal scuffle, as many as four unnatural deaths were registered in the Valpoi and Khanapur police stations in the past four years. Decomposed corpses have been discovered after 15-20 days, states the letter.
Villagers are also aggrieved that “school-going students are affected and troubled” since the bars are situated “extremely close to the village schools.” The SVAC, in the letter, stated that even though bar owners have been requested several times over the past couple of years to remedy the situation, bar owners haven’t bothered since they are only interested in “earning money illegally.”
Further, 30 to 40 families have been torn apart in the village due to alcohol being made available easily. Women who’ve become widows have been faced with the problem of raising children alone. Villagers hope that with a permanent ban, these problems will be resolved.
Villagers fear bar owners may now approach Directorate of Panchayats to exercise his quasi-judicial powers and nullify the panchayat’s decision withdrawing the NOCs
In the letter submitted to the DoP, villagers have requested the DoP not to give relief to these bar owners, and to uphold the decision taken by the Dongurli Thane Panchayat that withdrew their liquor NOCs
