The Opposition was off to a flying start to the Monsoon assembly session, having launched an offensive from the word go. In the later part, Members of the House rose to reply to the budget speech made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the previous session. While Opposition MLA Vijai Sardesai led from the front in punching holes in the revenue and expenditure projections mixing data, sarcasm and rhetoric seamlessly to leave the treasury benches red-faced, it was the BJP’s own MLA Michael Lobo who exposed the chinks in the government’s armoury in his speech.
Lobo, who hails from the tourism capital of the State, made a passionate appeal to the government not to harass tourists and went on to explain how visitors are treated, excused and guided in other countries. The Calangute MLA decried that tourists are being harassed in the State by policemen and pleaded that the government must follow the policy of “Atithi Devo Bhava”, an expression which means “the guest is equivalent to God”.
Harassment is a broad parameter that may not be quantifiable given the disorder prevalent in the State where tourists defy all the laws of the land and, at times, exhibit a care-a-damn attitude. If Lobo claims police are harassing tourists on one side, the transport minister had claimed that rent-a-bike and cars are creating a nuisance in the State. If drunk driving and drinking in public spaces and beaches are prohibited, tourists have shown a penchant to disregard this entirely.
So where is the problem? Lobo may be partly correct in taking up for the tourists because it has been his domain, and tourists are often caught on the wrong end of the law. However, the State has a fair share of the blame for not creating awareness and an environment that deserves better respect.
For example, recently, the government banned visitors from going to waterfalls in forest areas due to drowning incidents. Because of the decision, Dudsaghar waterfall, a star attraction for tourists from the neighbouring States, was barred for visitors. Ironically, there was no communication in this regard, and hundreds of tourists who descended at the railway station were left stranded after being disallowed to proceed to the waterfall. There was chaos, and tourists had no other option but to change plans and beat a hasty retreat. The narrative of tourists and tourism is more profound than what the MLA has argued.
While Lobo heaped equal praise on the budget presentation of Sawant with a deft touch on Modi, he did not spare the failures either and stressed the need to focus on the water needs and the augmentation of the water supply. Water scarcity, even during peak monsoons, has been a concern.
The bottom line is whether the points raised by the Opposition and some from within the ruling can rekindle hopes of change or whether these lengthy speeches would remain confined to the hallowed precincts of the Legislative Assembly. The stark reality is before the government, and the issues that have unfolded before the House amplify the need to work towards the greater good of citizens.
