Goa: Act against nightclubs that defy Covid-19 rules, Vishwajit Rane to collector

PANAJI: Health minister Vishwajit Rane said on Friday that he had written to the North Goa collector to take action against nightclubs and hotels operating in defiance of SOPs.
“It has been seen that a lot of hotels and nightclubs are not following norms,” he said. “We’ve taken up the issue very aggressively with the collector.” Rane asked the collector to take action against erring clubs under provisions of the Disaster Management Act.
Rane also said that nightlife isn’t the only driver of Goa’s tourism industry.“There are multiple things about Goa that can be marketed, and this is what I’ve told the chief minister,” he said, adding that the home and excise departments should monitor the situation.
On Monday, TOI frontpaged a report on nightclubs along the North Goa beach belt violating social distancing and mask-wearing norms, with a photo of a packed dancefloor.
Rane had then called for the licences of these establishments to be cancelled.
On Friday, he called videos of those parties “shameful”, but said the onus can’t be on the government all the time. “When such photos and videos become public, people wonder what the administration is doing, but the onus also lies on hotels and nightclubs, as well as on the individuals attending (the events).”
He said those visiting nightclubs are “not children”, and must follow all protocols. “People must take care, since the pandemic is not likely to go away as soon as earlier predicted.” He added that even in Panaji, he regularly sees people going for morning and evening walks without masks. “If people want to defy protocol, there is nothing much we can do,” he said.
Since last month, Goa has witnessed a gradual increase in domestic footfalls, and hotels, too, have registered “satisfactory” occupancy on weekends. Stakeholders expect a rise in tourist numbers during the Diwali vacation.