Admitting that the cases of sale of narotic drugs in the state have more than doubled in Goa this year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced today that 2018 would be observed as an "anti-drug" and "anti-accident" year.
Parrikar, while addressing the state Legislative Assembly here, also announced that a detention centre would be launched in Mapusa town from next month to keep those foreign nationals, who are found overstaying in the state.
He made the announcements while responding to a calling attention motion moved by Congress legislator Pratapsinh Rane during the ongoing state legislative assembly session, in which he expressed apprehensions about the sale of drugs in the coastal state.
"Let us consider 2018 as anti-drug and anti-accident mission for Goa. We will make sure that we will deport those foreigners, who are overstaying in the state," he said.
Responding to the suggestions made by the Congress legislators, Parrikar said the total number of cases of sale of narcotics booked this year has increased by 2.6 times as compared to the annual average.
To avoid the number of foreigners who overstay, the chief minister said from January onwards, a detention centre would be started in Mapusa.
"The construction of the centre is completed. We will put the foreigners involved in such activity in the detenion centre and later deported," he added.
He claimed that many foreigners come down to Goa and burn their travel documents.
"We cannot keep them in jail and hence will keep them in a detention centre," he said.
The chief minister also said that the state government will take on board experts with the knowledge about drugs, so that the state police know about the new kind of narcotics introduced in the market, which needs to be tracked.
He also said that the state government is planning to launch an online portal, where people can file complaints about drugs and their name would be kept confidential.
"The state government is also trying to set up or make active de-addiction centres," he said.
Parrikar said the number of officers in Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) of Goa Police should be increased as currently the number os small.
"We need to strengthen the ANC. The current strength of the cell is 30, which needs to be increased to 100," he said.
Responding to the statements made by the Congress legislators during the discussion today, Parrikar said, "while I appreciate why members have said that the impact of it is not as deep as you think."
The chief minister said that supply of drugs in the educational institutes is not a new thing.
"The supply of drugs is not new to institutions, where there is high student percentage. I have seen drugs in 1973 in my college days at IIT," he said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)