‘Approval for booze sale at Mopa airport will benefit outsider’

Panaji: A notification to issue a licence for liquor sales at airports in Goa is in the pipeline, prompting the Goa Liquor Traders Association (GLTA) on Thursday to allege that the government is moving towards “cartelisation of liquor sale”.
GLTA president Dattaprasad Naik alleged that the notification — which will be issued on the premise of promoting tourism — is “for the benefit of someone from outside Goa.” “If issued, it will be a big injustice to the state’s liquor trade which is dominated by the Bahujan samaj and minority communities,” Naik said. “The Bahujan samaj will not support BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls if the government proceeds with its plan.”
The Mumbai-based entity, he said, plans to set up a large wine store at the entrance of Manohar International Airport, Mopa, and another outlet near the check-in lounge. “This will enable a traveller to carry bottles in check-in luggage as well as hand baggage,” he pointed out while disclosing that the entity in question already has 120 wine stores in Mumbai.
“A total of 474 liquor licences have been issued in Mumbai for a population of two crore. Goa has 3,076 wine stores for a population of 15 lakh,” Naik claimed. The big player will spread its tentacles in the Goa market instantly, he said while adding, “If the government can amend the rules to allow it now, it will not hesitate to tweak the law further to allow it to set-up wine stores in other parts of Goa.”
Having lost out to the North India market, Goa’s liquor trade is tottering as it is, the GLTA president said. “With alcohol in North India now cheaper than in Goa, we’ve lost customers from there and are totally dependent on people who travel by air, and that too, from South India,” he said.