PANAJI
The President of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Savio Messias, has blamed the Tourism Department for getting relaxation for only five nightclubs to serve liquor beyond 11 pm till 1.30 am on April 19, 20 and 21 in the run up to general elections, which happened on April 23.
The five nightclubs were “ LPK Waterfront, Capetown Cafe, Titos Resort and Hospitalities, Cocktails & Dreams & Casa Playa and SinQ Hospitality.
When contacted, North Goa Collector R Menaka, IAS, also said that the order she had passed allowing five nightclubs to serve liquor till 1.30 am for those three days was based on the recommendation of the Tourism Department only. A number of hotels, bars, restaurants and casinos were not able to serve liquor to customers after 11 pm due to restrictions imposed on alcohol business during the model code of conduct in the run up to the general elections on April 23.
Messias said, “It is unfair on the part of the Tourism Department to recommend relaxation for only five nightclubs to serve liquor beyond 11 pm. So many hotels were having problems due to liquor restriction. I know of a hotel which was hosting a wedding and could not serve liquor after 11 pm, leaving the guests unhappy.”
Messias’s point was that if there was a relaxation, it should have been applicable for the entire tourism trade and not for just five nightclubs.
R Menaka said, “Those three days (April 19 to 21) was the long weekend just before the general elections. These five nightclubs had made a representation to the Tourism Department. The Tourism
Department had forwarded that to us. Based on that, we gave relaxation to these nightclubs to serve liquor beyond 11 pm.”
Meanwhile, Excise Commissioner, Amit Satija, said that his office neither puts any restriction on the sale of alcohol during election time and nor does it give any relaxation.
In other words, the relaxation to those five nightclubs to serve alcohol beyond 11 pm was given by North Goa’s Collector’s office, which in turn was based on the recommendation of the Tourism Department.
Jack Sukhija, member, TTAG, said, “It was really discriminatory to give relaxation only to those five nightclubs. What is the rationale of such a
relaxation?”
