‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,’ Shakespeare once wrote. That’s true, names often don’t mean much. A yacht owners’ club and a marina. They both sound different, but in reality they’re the same. It’s just that the former is not as ominous as the latter. It’s not as ‘dangerous’ as perceived either.
The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has commissioned a jetty to be built in Britona as well as a star hotel; both properties are part of a ‘landmark’ project to brighten up the River Mandovi with high-class yachts. This move is commendable,
and although it will receive a lot of flak from certain quarters, yet to be determined, this project spells hope for an
upgraded Goa, in terms of tourism.
The GTDC has already selected a company that will take
charge of the development of this project, which will include
a hotel that sports all the amenities, and much over 30 floating
docks, where the boats will be
able to moor. The yacht owners’
club is rumoured to have facilities
for refueling and washing, among
other things, all of which are part of
a full-fledged marina. The project
is for a period of 30 years initially,
with the chance to extend it for another
30 years. There is a concession
fee of Rs 10.10 crore and the GTDC also earns five per cent
of the operating profits. The five per cent may look like a small
figure now, but it has tremendous potential.
Let’s assume that the government is trying to sugarcoat the
marina and position it as a yacht owners’ club. Can anyone
blame them? Every time a project of this sort gets proposed
there are numerous groups that attempt to poke large holes in
it. Undoubtedly, there are often enough reasons to do so, but
somewhere down the line there has to be some course correction.
There are plans to position Goa as an upmarket brand, and
yes, there is a lot of work to be done before that happens.
We need to have better and cleaner roads, safer and cleaner
beaches, stringent laws that disapprove of unplanned and illegal
development. But also, somewhere along the line, we
have to begin a parallel journey to that destination, whereby
we start creating infrastructure to accommodate a better
class of tourists. The requirements are simple. An abundance
of five star hotels. Check. Marinas for yachts. No. Golf course.
No. Private airfields. No. There are different kinds of projects
that need to be put in motion, alongside the plan to spruce up
the existing amenities and infrastructure. This ‘yacht owners’
club’ is one such project and as such should definitely be allowed
to progress.
