The stage is set for carnival in Goa with festivities opening in Panaji on Saturday. But contrary to the usual frenzy where booze flowed freely in a State synonymous with alcohol, there comes a twist this year. The laws of the land have changed. The recently amended Goa Tourist Place Protection and Maintenance Act bans drinking in public places and will certainly take the ‘hic’ out of such festivities. Enforcement willing, offenders could be in for heavy fines ranging between Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000. But that’s the compromise the State has to make if discipline has to be reined in. Tourism Minister Manohar Babu Ajgaonkar, in his true Carnival spirit, has appealed to the tourists not to do drugs but instead try the local brew Feni. This may be timed well to showcase Goa’s homemade drink, but it’s not an invitation to drink in the open.
Carnival, since the Portuguese era, has been about clean fun, music and merriment. It was about colourful dressing, masks, spraying powder and splashing water even in balloons, in friendly exchanges. Over the years the charm is lost, and the festival remains solely centered around monotonous and commercially sponsored float parades. The creativity and the enthusiasm have been on the decline. Booze and drugs have been rampant and tourists and locals have indulged in a celebration of a different kind.
Advising tourists against drugs is subtle admission of narcotics doing their rounds at Carnival, leave aside EDMs and night parties. It highlights the fact that the tourism minister is aware of the grim reality. The ban on public drinking is a step in the right direction and while the government is literally leaving no stone unturned to woo tourists, it must ensure that it restores the traditional nostalgic charm of festivals like Carnival so that tourists return home with a ‘wow’ feeling. Tourists must be drawn towards a destination for its festivals and the recreation it offers. We need to set an example for other States to emulate us instead of being remembered for the booze and drugs that are on offer.
The notoriety that the State has attained for drugs is reflected in the online posts that tourists have made after their visits. “Goa is full of drugs, weed and hashish. You could get drugs like, coke, MD, heroin, and other hallucinating drugs. Goa is known for drugs, cheap beer and beaches all around. Ask shop owners or foreigners, they have a way out for drugs.” Posts like these only tarnish Goa’s image as a tourist destination.
Now that the government has taken baby steps to enforce discipline, its time it raises the bar further. We need to work on ways to create the magic that enchanted tourists from across the globe. It’s time to rediscover the Goa we lost.
