Only 'good tourists' welcome to Goa: Tourism Minister
Panaji, July 17 : Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Tuesday urged tourists not to misbehave with women under the influence of alcohol while welcoming the Chief Minister's announcement of fines for drinking and littering in public.
Ajgaonkar also said that only those disciplined "good tourists" were welcome in Goa, who were willing to preserve the state's culture, natural beauty and the spirit of Goanness.
"We urge people and tourists to not misbehave with any girl or woman. Because our Goa is famous all over India and the world. People come here to see our culture and our natural beauty. Goa's discipline, culture and Goenkarponn (Goanness) should be preserved. There will be no compromise on anyone who is drunk and misbehaves," Ajgaonkar told reporters here.
On Monday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that from August 15 onwards, those who drink alcohol in public would be fined Rs 2,500. Littering would also face steep fines, he said, adding that a notification would be issued shortly.
Ajgaonkar said the Rs 2,500 fine was less and should be hiked considerably.
"They should be fined as much as possible. We want good tourists, those who follow Goa's discipline and culture and Goenkarponn," he said.
Asked if the fine would deter tourists from visiting Goa, a state which has a liberal and a low excise regime on alcohol, Ajgaonkar said: "There is no question of it affecting tourists."
Goa is one of the top beach and nightlife tourism destinations in the country and attracts more than six million tourists every year.
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Kumaraswamy to visit Andrew Yule's tea gardens in Assam soon
Guwahati(PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would soon visit tea gardens, owned by public sector enterprise Andrew Yule, to revive its estates as workers are facing immense hardship.
Kumaraswamy, the minister of steel and heavy industries, thanked Assam Industries Minister Bimal Borah for apprising him of various challenges being faced by the tea gardens and the need to support the management to alleviate suffering of workers.
"We are concerned about the economic challenges and hardship of the tea gardens owned by Andrew Yule Group in Assam and its impact on the wage earners," Kumaraswamy said at a press conference here.
The tea garden wage earners will also get a 20 per cent Durga Puja bonus, like workers of other gardens, he said.
Referring to his recent visit to the Cement Corporation of India Ltd factory at Bokajan in Karbi Anglong district, Kumaraswamy said there was a plan for the revival of the cement industry in the state by investing Rs 700 crore.
He also emphasised on the need for a cement manufacturing unit in the northeastern states.
On the current development of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy utilisation in Assam, the union minister said more than Rs 2,000 crore would be invested for battery charging stations and nearly 70,000 such facilities will be set up across the country.
More than 18,000 e-buses will also be purchased to fulfil the goal of carbon emission reduction, Kumaraswamy added.
