PANAJI: Former chief minister and Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro on Monday claimed that once he was offered to buy drugs by a foreigner when he visited Arambol, observing that Goa will become a sin city of India with the scourge of drugs, gambling and prostitution.
“Once when I visited Arambol for a Congress meeting a foreigner approached me, took out drugs, showed them to me and asked me whether I want to buy it. If this can happen to me then what about others? Now drugs have started travelilng to the hinterlands and in various colleges including engineering colleges. Some action should be taken by the government as the future of Goan youths are in danger,” Faleiro said while speaking on the floor of the House on a cut motion on the demands including from the home department.
Admitting that casinos were introduced in Goa during the Congress regime, Faleiro demanded that the current government should rectify the “mistake”.
“We made a mistake. Let us be magnanimous enough to admit our mistake and correct it. Just because the Congress brought the casinos in the state it does not mean that we should continue with them…” he said.
He observed that the coastal state will become “a sin city of India”.
He advised the government to formulate casino policy in such a way that it can remove the casino vessels in a phased manner from the Mandovi.
Claiming that drugs are easily available across the state, Mandrem MLA Dayanand Sopte alleged that the police are partners in drug trade and prostitution. Drugs are easily available. Today the police support drug peddlers in promoting the drugs trade in the state rather than acting against them. Police are a partner in prostitution, there are some policemen who have not been transferred for more than 10 years and it is these policemen who run the illegal activities, Sopte said.
Sopte informed the House about the people and the hotels from his constituency and adjoining areas who have been into these nefarious activities.
He urged the government to identify the culprits in the police department demanding stern action against them so that other police personnel would dissuade from indulging in it.
Congress MLA from St Andre constituency Francisco Silveira urged the government to take steps to obliterate drug menace as the Goan youth, including college girls, take drugs in nightclubs and disco bars.
Seeking help from all the MLAs for crackdown on narcotic trade, Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao said that movements of youngsters need to be monitored and if anybody is suspected of carrying drugs then the police must be informed.
Speaking on the Mopa airport, Faleiro gave the examples of Cochin, Bangalore and Hyderabad where the ‘dual airport theory’ has failed. He rubbished the government’s claim that Dabolim will survive even after Mopa airport takes off.
He said, “According to the ICAQ reports, the experts have said the ‘dual airport theory’ is not feasible. It also states that for two airports to survive both should have the traffic of 24 million per annum which Goa won’t have in near future.”
Commenting on the rise in robbery cases in South Goa, Curtorim MLA Alexio Reginaldo Laurenco said, “People are scared of coming out of their houses late night. I feel that robberies and thefts cannot be carried out without the collusion with the local police.”
Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar said that some police personnel are committing suicide due to harassment and torture by senior police officers.
“Family members of the expired police personnel complain that their kin face harassment from senior officers of the department… that could be the reason for forcing them (cops) to commit suicide. I urge the Chief Minister to look into this as it is a serious matter which needs to be addressed,” Patnekar said.
Silveira demanded that the government should help the people who have been suffering due to the crackdown on matka gambling.
He also urged the government to legalise dhirio (bullfight) and to construct special grounds to organise this traditional activity, claiming that even the police pitch in organising dhirio.
Most of the MLAs, including Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo, accused the traffic police of harassing tourists.
“Indian and foreign tourists are harassed every second day. If a tourist comes here for a three-day stay he is stopped six times by cops. I don’t want to say beyond that,” Lobo stated.
Patnekar said that if the tourists are ill-treated then a wrong message would go to the world and it can even affect the tourism industry in a negative way.
Alemao too came down heavily on cops saying that traffic cops are only engaged in harassing tourists at Colva. They don’t have time for managing vehicular traffic in city areas. Hence the village panchayat has taken a resolution to remove them from that area.
Laurenco, Lobo and Patnekar urged the government to renovate Goa Sadan in Mumbai so that people of Goa visiting that city would avail accommodation facilities at lower prices.
Lobo also urged the government to build accommodation facilities at Valankani and Shirdi where Goan devotees throng.