Goa warns of ‘zero tolerance’ for parties as Covid-19 cases rise in the Indian resort state
- Police seized drugs worth US$12,000 and arrested 23 people in a raid on a weekend rave at a private villa in the Indian resort state, the latest of several
- Goa is home to foreign residents, including many Russians, Israelis and Britons. The state has registered 12,000 coronavirus cases, and they are rising steeply
The Indian resort state of Goa is cracking down on revellers throwing illegal, drug-fuelled parties as coronavirus cases climb in the tourist hotspot, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Lots of bars and restaurants are unable to operate after many workers fled the state for their home villages when India imposed a strict lockdown in late March.
The partying has not stopped, however – including in private villas, stone quarries and at secret locations in the jungle involving thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs, according to local media.
Goa’s tourism minister, Manohar Ajgaonkar, warned revellers that the good times were over. “These parties are happening illegally … police are looking into it,” he said. “We are asking people to be vigilant and if they come to know about any such case, they should tell the police.”
“There are guest houses and villas that are operating illegally,” he said, accusing owners of renting out their homes to visitors without telling the authorities.