On Liberation Day, there was one marked change as tourism became the focus and speeches revolved around how Goa should evolve into a better destination. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant called for the need to streamline systems and felt that currently there is an “undue loot of tourists” beginning from flights to taxis and hotels. And once again, Sawant stated that his government will not tolerate any high-handedness that brings the State into disrepute.
The CM and others in the government have been lately talking tough that sounds more like rhetoric. What we need to understand is that the tourists have been exposed to what is called “loot” because of a lack of a clearly defined system. If taximen are defiant and dictating terms, so are a majority of hoteliers. There are still no regulatory systems in place, and in areas which are governed by laws, there is no compliance.
Take, for example, the tourism department circular on tourists creating nuisances on the beaches and drinking in public places. While a hue and cry were made out last month, tourists are still seen openly drinking and creating a nuisance on beaches. Taking vehicles on the coast is banned, but tourists continue to manoeuvre their four-wheelers on the beach risking the lives of people. There is a prohibition on selling wares on beaches, but 'lamanis' still go about their business. So is the case with beggars.
Last week the court expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by authorities to curb sound pollution, but there are around ten rave and trance parties which have been promoting their events scheduled in the next two weeks. A section of politicians and netizens have reacted angrily, but yet, authorities haven't taken cognisance. On the flip side, there is concern that the sound ban could affect religious and cultural events during Christmas week.
Disorder and blame games continue. In the recent fiasco at Mormugao port, the cruise operators, taximen and police are pointing fingers at each other. The South Goa collector has put up a traffic management plan at Mormugao port, but there is still no resolution between taxi operators and cruise operators.
Instead of mere tough-talking, Goa needs stringent compliance. We have the laws in place. The police force has been the target because primarily it boils down to enforcement and this is where the confidence of people has taken a hit. Somewhere the checks are failing because of the obvious fear of them adversely affecting tourism. If Goa lives with this assumption, we could only land ourselves in a worse situation and Goa will spiral to a new low.
The state needs to liberate itself from the fear of losing out on tourism and define systems that will help stakeholders work seamlessly in the larger interest of all. Let tourism prevail, but let's not lose sight of the Goa that we are losing.
