Fed up of rowdy visitors, St Tome residents seek action
PANAJI
The party is soaring, yet not everyone is on a high or so it seems from an unsavoury episode at St Tome last week in which a group of residents picked up a 'street fight' of sorts with tourists, who for over two years and more have been flocking the area and impacting its character of a once peaceful hamlet in the capital city.
A video clip of the incident where residents were seen wielding sticks and threatening the tourists, had gone viral on social media platforms, which prompted Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, who represents Panaji, to visit the area and hear out the residents. In the discussion, he asked them to themselves come up with suggestions of measures that could be taken to ease the problems they face in their lives on account of tourists flocking to their locality, daily.
After giving them a patient ear, Monserrate said the residents themselves will draw up a plan, including some changes in rules, which will be discussed by them with his mayor-son and officials before the government decides what to do to tackle the nuisance factor.
Over the last few years, dozens of bars, bistros, cafes and restaurants have set up shop and are firmly rooted in Panaji's twin hamlets of Sao Tome and Fontainhas, interspersed with residential homes.
The cute and colourful tiled-roof homes in these heritage precincts of Panaji act as an added attraction for droves of tourists, many of who love posting a selfie, a video clip or a reel amidst this setting. Some of the visitors are often unruly, upsetting the peace of residents, especially several senior citizens who reside there.
Another complaint the residents have is of tourists violating their privacy by peeping through their windows and sometimes even entering inside their homes when doors are left open.
Mayor discusses problems, promises action
As promised to the residents by his MLA-dad, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Mayor, Rohit Monserrate kept his date with them and discussed some possible measures to be taken to ease their torment.
The residents made several demands like regulating the hourly quantum of tourists that enter their locality and provision of a centralised parking arrangement outside the area for vehicles of the visitors.
Police presence in the area and deploying "wardens" to act as a deterrent for unruly behaviour on the streets, was another suggestion the residents made to the Mayor.
Realising that most of the suggestions made by the residents are outside of the domain of his powers and jurisdiction, the Mayor only promised to "consider them" while promising to hold another meeting next week where police, transport and tourism department officials and those from the Collector's office will be present to finalise what can be enforced to tackle the situation.
According to Monserrate, photos and videos of St Tome and Fontainhas areas attract a lot of attention on popular social media sites like Instagram because of which these tourists are flocking to the area.
"The tourists must display a sense of respect for the dignity of the residents. No one likes strangers outside their door holding photoshoots as early as dawn. Some regulation is necessary in terms of tourist behaviour, especially in areas which are residential," Monserrate said.
Tourism welcome, but...
On record, most of the residents 'The Goan' spoke to and some of who were part of the delegation that met the Mayor, said they are not against tourism being encouraged in their locality.
"While tourism must be encouraged, the tourists must maintain decorum and not be unruly. The local culture and way of life must be respected," said Tuan Gomes Pereira, who has been residing in St Tome for over six decades. He added the police may have to be deployed to patrol the streets just to serve as a deterrent to the unruly behaviour of the tourists.
Other residents told 'The Goan' that the narrow streets are blocked by the teeming tourists, many of who pose for photographs right in the middle, making commuting to and from their homes difficult for them.
"When it happens every other day, it makes you angry," said one of the residents. Professional agencies organising shoots using professional equipment thus blocking the roads for long intervals of time is another common occurrence," he added.
Panaji's other heritage precinct
The onslaught of tourists St Tome and Fontainhas is facing now with residents facing the brunt, was experienced more than a decade ago by people who own and reside in heritage homes at Campal around the Dr Francisco Luis Gomes garden.
Busloads of tourists used to swarm the locality and at any given time during the day, dozens of buses used to be parked on the narrow internal roads adjacent to the DB Marg.
With their lives disrupted due to the tourist invasion almost through the day, Campal residents did raise a hue and cry forcing the authorities to ban the entry or parking of buses in the locality. The measure did bring in a measure of decorum in the area although tourists continue to flock, perhaps out of genuine admiration for the uniqueness and architecture of the homes there.
No complaints against commercial outlets
Referred to as the Latin Quarter along with the twin hamlet of Fontainhas, St Tome which did have a share of its well-entrenched businesses, has seen dozens of commercial establishments set foot in the area particularly targeting the tourist clientele.
Restaurants, bistros, cafes, heritage resorts and guesthouses have mushroomed in the area, many of them run by locals, which is one reason why the irritated residents have stopped short of demanding a ban on tourists in their area.
With restaurants and bars strictly following the 10 pm deadline to down shutters, complaints against these commercial establishments disturbing them have virtually vanished in recent times and their ire is now exclusively directed at the tourists causing commotion on the streets and intruding on their privacy in their homes.
As CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate aptly put it: "They (residents) are not demanding a ban on tourists. They only want that the tourists are dignified and respect the local residents' privacy."
