NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY REPORT IS A WAKE UP CALL FOR THE GOVT by Nisser Dias

The recent assessment and report of the National Geographic Society’s centre for Sustainable Destinations -- rating Goa among the world’s 10 worst beaches should ring a warning bell in the ears of our elected representatives at all levels from the panch member to the chief minister to the parliamentarians that all is not well along our hundred and four kilometres serpentine coast belt. Which way back in the 70s had attracted tourists to the state.

All these decades the government has cashed in on beach tourism but has done very little to preserve the environment and cleanliness of our pristine stretch of shoreline. I am of the strong opinion that the government got tourism on a platter. But instead of improving or developing it in a scientific manner like protecting the sand dunes, arresting erosion of soil by planting trees, manning the sea to discourage release of oil from vessels, maintaining tide line and adhering to coastal regulation zones our government has assisted and abetted in the destruction of the beach environment.

For example almost all the 5 star resorts and even others hotels along the beaches in Goa have violated CRZ rules and regulations with impunity and in one case the present coalition government led by chief minister Digambar Kamat saved a part of a Cidade de Goa hotel even after Supreme Court of India had ordered its demolition. Many of these hotels have even flattened sand dunes. Almost all the five star resorts have altered the natural beauty of the beach environment by cutting trees and in place have created artificial beauty like extensive stretches of lawn. And our successive governments have only been an onlooker simply because the palms of the ministers and local MLAs are periodically greased or their elections funded by the hoteliers.

Then come shacks. The concept of a shack was to allow temporary structures to be set-up on the beaches firstly to create employment for Goans and secondly to promote authentic Goan cuisine. These structures had to be compulsorily removed before the onset of the monsoons. But today some of the shacks are built with concrete and they have become permanent structures. Besides successive governments did not even think on incorporating regulations on how the shacks owners would have to mandatorily dispose garbage. The scenario behind the shacks is gut retching.

Some of these shacks as of today are being used for nefarious activities like sale of drugs, organise trance parties, massage parlours and prostitution.

Every year we have tar balls surfacing on the shore. What has the government done to stop this nuisance? Nothing. The tar balls is engine oil that is discharged into the sea by errant bulk carriers and other vessels. There is no mechanism in place to monitor these vessels so that they do not use the ocean as a convenient waste oil sump. Worse still this year when the tar balls surfaced on the shore in huge quantity all along the coastal belt, the government engaged daily wage labourers to collect them. With no site indentified to scientifically dispose it, the labourers buried the tar balls on the beach itself. What did the government achieve? Again nothing but only managed to burn a hole in the government’s treasury.

Then there is the nuisance of lamanis who irritate tourists by pestering them to buy trinkets, fruits and sometimes double up as masseurs and ear cleaners. Now some of the migrant population have started selling pirated music and movie CDs on the beach. These lamanis and migrants completely deride Goan culture.  And can we forget the menace of stray dogs.

The governments or more specifically tourism ministry have even failed to provide garbage bins on the beach result of which is garbage is strewn all over. The government has also allowed kiosks to be set up at the entrance of the beach. These has led to garbage and plastics being piled up in corner and burnt.

These are just few example of government lackadaisical attitude towards Goa lovely beach stretch. National Geographic Society’s centre for Sustainable Destinations listed other criteria like conditions of historic building and archaeological sites, social and cultural integrity, aesthetics appeal, quality of tourism management.

Earlier this year some personalities raised their voice against demolition of an old building at Panjim to facilitate construction of a hotel allegedly owned by Home minister Ravi Naik. This is a classic example of our politicians ruining Goa for personal gains. How can we forget that the government was forced to partly fund repairs of the centuries old St. Anna church at Curca as it started crumbling. Due to the greed of our politicians for land many of our historical monuments are facing threat. Some of our forts are lying in shamble.

In light of this it is ironical that the director of Tourism Swapnil Naik tends to disagree with the National Geographic Society’s centre for Sustainable Destinations report. Besides exposing his ignorance of the ground realities of his directorate he goes one step ahead to reveal his lack of knowledge by comparing our historical buildings and archaeological sites to those abroad and London. Instead of criticizing the National Geographic report it would be better for all those involved with Tourism industry to study the report threadbare and find means and measures to maintain the 104 kilometres stretch of shoreline in Goa and develop tourism in the right perspective.