Tourism Minister Babu Azgaonkar, who talks big about improving tourism in Goa, has failed miserably to manage the portfolio. During his tenure government has not been able to decide what it wants Goa Tourism to be like?
He had said last year in the Assembly that tourists who do not respect the culture of Goa and create a nuisance by littering on the beaches or taking narcotics are not welcome in the State. The minister had also said that existing laws were not strong enough to tackle the nuisance created by hawkers on the beaches in the State.
A year later, the same nuisance on the beaches continues.
What kind of tourist do we want? Do we want the tourists who look at our sisters and daughters with lust? Or do we want tourists who come here for cheap booze?
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
On the day of the New Year, a few hours after the party, Goa witnessed shocking scenes from the coastline. The beaches are littered with waste, glass bottles, the drunk tourists are seen lying like “mermaids” on the beach.
Behaviour like this isn’t unusual. Goa’s authorities have been struggling to manage the State’s beaches and handle rising instances of unruly tourists for over a decade when the State started drawing fewer international travellers and more short-stay domestic budget vacationers, several of them all-male groups.
These are the same tourists who hunt for dance bars, prostitutes and drugs.
Several clashes have been reported between local residents and the unruly tourists this year itself.
Over the decade, the State has taken many steps to keep its beaches clean and safe. In 2013, it prohibited the consumption of liquor on beaches and asked the India Reserve Battalion of the Goa Police to implement the ban.
The battalion is routinely asked to deal with tourism-related matters, including cracking down on beach vendors, begging, sexual harassment, littering and busloads of tourists cooking in the open.
However, despite all the rules, implementation is poor. The State continues to see rampant littering and boisterous tourists drinking on the beaches.
Worse is the menace of broken glass bottles on the beach; why is the law banning drinking on the beach is not implemented?
Tourism Minister Babu Azgaonkar, who talks big about improving tourism in Goa, has failed miserably to manage the portfolio. During his tenure government has not been able to decide what it wants Goa Tourism to be like?
He had said last year in the Assembly that tourists who do not respect the culture of Goa and create a nuisance by littering on the beaches or taking narcotics are not welcome in the State. The minister had also said that existing laws were not strong enough to tackle the nuisance created by hawkers on the beaches in the State.
A year later, the same nuisance on the beaches continues.
What kind of tourist do we want? Do we want the tourists who look at our sisters and daughters with lust? Or do we want tourists who come here for cheap booze?
These kinds of tourists who come in a tempo traveller do not help Goans any way financially and instead tarnish the image of Goa,w which is an acclaimed international tourist destination.
Goa is desperately trying to promote non-beach tourism and get higher spending visitors. But the effort seems to have only remained on paper. Instead of going gaga over roadshows, the government may well follow the Kerala model that is often quoted as a better way to retain revenue locally – spread tourism across the State and encourage small enterprises. The continuing nuisance of domestic tourists, cooking by the roadside and littering, is going on despite the State having laws in place to handle such people.
Under the Tourist Places Protection and Maintenance Act, cooking has already been declared a nuisance. Under the Act, a violator can be fined and imprisoned for up to three months.
The law provides a fine of Rs 2,000 for an individual and Rs 10,000 for a group of persons for violation. Only consistent follow-up and police crackdown can solve this menace.
They say where there is a will, there is a way…but sadly, neither Dr Pramod Sawant nor Babu Azgaonkar has the will to improve teh quality of tourism in Goa.
