Will Goa see a change with the Department of Tourism deciding to come down heavily on tourists creating a nuisance in public places? Or is this order going to be yet another headline-grabbing announcement that will be confined only to paper? According to the order those found cooking in open areas, consuming alcohol in the open and driving vehicles on the beaches will be punished with a fine of Rs 5,000 which may extend up to Rs 50,000 and may even attract jail under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The department’s order also clamps down on touting and selling cruise boat tickets and other tourism-related activities. Also, begging along tourist places has been banned, and water sports are restricted to the demarcated zones.
The sincerity of this move appears suspicious because all along the enforcement turned a blind eye despite a law being in force. Lest we forget, the Goa Legislative Assembly had on January 31, 2019, passed amendments to the Goa Tourists Place (Protection and Maintenance) Act 2001 prohibiting drinking alcohol, cooking and littering in tourist places, including beaches. The tourism policy itself is very clear about barring tourists from cooking and drinking in public places. The law already empowered government machinery to crack down, yet violations continued. So, why was there no action taken?
The intent in cleaning up the mess appears suspect against what Goa has been witnessing, and against how the law was conveniently overlooked to give undisciplined tourists a free run. Brief efforts during the Manohar Parrikar regime to control unruly visitors failed because there were inherent concerns that the action could adversely impact tourism. Calangute MLA Michael Lobo at one point pleaded with his government not to ban tourists from drinking on beaches. Rowdy tourists continued to show scant respect to the State and its laws, and yet the system was unmoved. Lest we forget, in February 2018, a video of a tourist urinating from a window of a bus in Miramar became a subject of intense debate that led to the then minister Vijai Sardesai labelling “some tourists” as “scum of the earth”, a comment that also stirred controversy.
Goa has been regularly witnessing impish tourists roaming semi-nude in public places, drinking and smoking in places, recklessly driving vehicles on beaches, urinating on beaches and roadsides, cooking in open areas and even using their vehicles as make-shift accommodations. Apart from a brief spell of surveillance after the “scum of the earth” controversy, nothing has changed. Our enforcement has remained helpless spectators as this “madness” unfolded right before them. Tourists have been allowed their fill of merry-making with liquor bottles in tow.
Issuing orders will not change anything, what is crucial is the resolve to drive a change followed by credible action. Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte must show that he means business, irrespective of the consequences. The fear of tourism getting a beating, and the pressure that comes from colleagues in the government, should not weigh down such decisions. We hope to see some discipline returning soon.
