«The noise and the yelling are beyond what one can take. Park benches are dragged off, to be used to set up drinking «gardens» around kindergartens,» he said, providing an example.
According to Võhma mayor Anneli Siimussaar, consumption of alcohol has been on the rise in their public places but the local government has not yet had the time to deal with it. She said they would be discussing a ban on tippling on playgrounds and the city square.
Sillamäe development specialist Anton Makarjev admitted that even before the liberal law hit, drinking was popular at certain public places. Mr Makarjev said that in a small town, police is simply unable to pay enough attention to this.
Both Mr Makarjev and the Loksa mayor Värner Lootsmann think local governments may indeed impose limits, but they’ll still be struggling to punish the offenders as there are neither people nor funds to keep the situation in check.
Several local governments, however, are in the wait-and-see mode.
«The law being fresh, it is difficult to assess if anything has changed. Personally, I hope no law makes people drink more,» said Keila deputy mayor Timo Suslov.
Should public drinking become a problem, special measures will be discussed in Võru. Once the summer is over, talks are in pipeline in Viljandi and Kuressaare. In Jõgeva, the issue was on the agenda at the last city council meeting; even so, as summers are quiet in Jõgeva, they are keeping an eye on how the picture is changing.
At the moment, Haapsalu, Valga and Saue don’t see the change as problematic.
Of all places, Tartu seems to be the most free-wheeling. City secretary Jüri Mölder said it is already laid down in law and order law that while drinking alcohol, others aren’t to be disturbed. As also pointed out by Mr Mölder, the courts have not considered it substantiated for law and order to intervene in situations where consumption of alcohol does not disturb others and poses no danger.