A series of videos went viral on social media of late-night parties at clubs along the coastal belt over the weekend, once again raises questions over government's seriousness in handling the issue. Why are the police failing to crack the whip on these late-night parties when they have shown alacrity elsewhere? Police managed to arrest those behind the burning of a labourer at Salvador do Mundo in three days, an effort which earned praise from chief minister Pramod Sawant. Five IPL bookies that were raided and busted in less than a month and there are umpteen cases that the men in khaki have acted swiftly to bring culprits to book.
However, it's been over three months that coastal North is buzzing with night parties at various destinations, videos of which have been in the public domain, and the entire police force is clueless. The reaction of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane is understandable. Yes, it is unfair when a section of youngsters party in night clubs in complete violation of Covid guidelines and take the law for granted while on the other hand health warriors are struggling to save lives.
Rane's outburst also implies that there is a failure from the enforcement side, an area which directly comes within the jurisdiction of the chief minister who is also the home minister. There is a lack of intent to crack down on parties with the chief minister taking a gamble to revive tourism during these pandemic times. Are we to believe that the entire law and order machinery takes a holiday during weekends when the coastal areas of Anjuna, Arpora, Baga, Calangute and even Morjim go into wild partying? By allowing these violations, the government is doing a grave injustice to the hundreds of front line medical warriors who have been toiling hard to safeguard lives, even to the extent of putting themselves into peril.
If these sort of illegalities are allowed, what is the significance of the promises made in vision documents in the form of tourism master plan and tourism policy? The talk of exploring cultural, educational and medical tourism appears hollow when such violations are allowed to reboot the industry. The State government may boast of featuring as the 11th best tourist destination in the world by online travel portal Trip Advisor, a ranking based on reviews and rating of travellers. Goa figures among destinations like London, Paris, Bali, Rome and Phuket. These achievements, however, don't speak of the kind of traveller leaving feedback and their choices, and these ratings can't be a barometer to measure the success of our tourism.
As a State, it is the government, the chief minister and the tourism minister who has to set boundaries keeping the spirit of the State and its people in mind. Making vague and illusory promises on the one hand and allowing pandemic violations for business interest on the other, exposes the disingenuous ways of those in power.
