The department of tourism has proposed a penalty of Rs 2,000 for those drinking booze on beaches. This is a good step forward and needs to be implemented seriously. This would also help the government fetch the much-needed revenue for its coffers. The department further announced if a group is caught drinking the penalty would be Rs 10,000. Here, there needs to be some clarity. The department needs to define what would constitute a ‘group.’ Secondly, do group drinkers get a discount if the number of offenders is more than five? Suppose there is a group of 50 persons then the penalty would be Rs 200 per person which is negligible compared to what the group would be spending on food and drinks.
