Drugs being sold at roadside carts: Goa minister

Goa Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho on Wednesday claimed that narcotics were being sold on roadside carts in some panchayats. Responding to a question tabled by MGP MLA Sudin Dhavalikar during the Goa Assembly session here, the minister also said majority of the roadside kiosks are run by non- Goans.

"Drugs are available on roadside kiosks. I will take action against these carts," Godinho informed the House. The antecedents of people who run these kiosks should be checked to see if any of them have criminal records, he said, adding that some of these vendors are goons.

"Only those with domicile certificates should be allowed to run kiosks," he said, adding that 95 per cent of kiosks are sublet to non-Goans. During the discussion, Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte questioned why Godinho had not forced panchayats to build hawker zones in their jurisdictions.

"The government should have fined panchayats that don't have hawker zones," Khaunte said. Godinho assured that in the next three months, the government will formulate a policy under which all kiosks will have uniform designs..

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