Panaji, Dec 31 (IANS) A senior Goa bureaucrat Monday said that the drug problem was affecting the state in a big way, contradicting Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s claims that the drug trade was under control during his regime.
Director of Sports V M Prabhudessai claims that drugs are being openly sold in Goa’s coastal belt and that local boys were falling prey to addiction.
“We saw it closely. Drugs are being openly sold. Outsiders are doing it. The local boys are also in trouble. Everyone has seen it and it is in the papers too,” Prabhudessai said, recounting his visit to Chapora, a coastal fishing village in north Goa, 20 kms from Panjim.
Chapora is known as for its seedy narcotics-laden underbelly, along with other coastal villages like Anjuna, Morjim, Arambol and Baga.
“Drug use is in a big way here, which is a bad thing. We have to make the youngsters aware of side-effect and keep them away from addiction,” Prabhudessai said.
“Youngsters have fallen prey to drugs and prostitution. We have to find out a way in which we can put them on the right path by getting them involved in sports and youth activities,” he added.
Parrikar in his public speeches has insisted that drug trade in Goa is under control, stating that his government had zero tolerance to drugs and narcotics trade.
