NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Raising grave concern over the easy availability of drugs in the vicinity of the educational institutions and in the village areas, the Congress MLAs, on Wednesday, demanded with the government to crack down on drugs.
Supporting the motion moved by Leader of Opposition Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar opposing the Governor’s address in the Assembly, the Congress MLAs on the floor of the House claimed that drugs have entered the schools and colleges and the village areas.
They said that the government data stated that the drug cases are declining, however, the reality on the ground has been totally different.
“Drugs have not only reached the village areas but even the premises of the schools and colleges. Drug consumption by students is a matter of concern. Students today are addicted to drugs and alcohol,” said Mandrem MLA Dayanand Sopte.
Sopte claimed that drugs are openly sold in Pernem, however, the answer by the government has stated that no cases have been detected and the local Pernem youth were not involved in cases of the drugs since 2016 till date.
Stating that there is a need to monitor the movement of boys and girls visiting the night clubs, St Andre MLA Francis Silveira urged the government to form teams which can visit each and every education institution to inquire about the flow of the drugs.
He also said that government along with education department officials needs to hold a meeting of the respective headmasters and principals of the schools and colleges in order to brief them about drugs and seek their help in cracking the drugs cases.
“Drugs in Goa are like a virus, said Thivim MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said that the bureaucracy along with the enforcement agencies has failed to root out the drugs menace in the state.
Kavlekar reminded the government that the former chief minister (Laxmikant Parsekar) had admitted on the floor of the House that drugs were easily available in the education institutions, and sought a reply from the government as to what was done in this regard during the last five years by the BJP government.
He stressed on the need to strengthen the intelligence mechanism of the police department, in order to crack the drug cases.
The Congress MLAs also questioned the government’s failure to challenge the High Court order on the entry of sixth casino vessel MV Lucky Seven, before the Supreme Court.
Lourenco said that if the government can knock the door of the apex court over the delimitation and reservation in the panchayat elections then why it can’t challenge the entry of the sixth casino vessel into the river Mandovi, before the Supreme Court. “Government has the courage and will to raid the local matka operators, however, it doesn’t have the courage to carry out raids in the casinos,” he said.
Silveira said that more casinos should not be allowed in the River Mandovi as the barge pilots and trawler drivers face a lot of hardships while moving their vessels in the river as it is overcrowded with many small to big size boats and ships.
