the goan I network
PANAJI
The Congress on Saturday slammed the State government, holding it responsible for the unfortunate incident of the death of the tourist at Candolim beach after lightning struck him, and injured his pregnant wife.
President of the Goa Congress unit, Girish Chodankar in a press statement said that the incident has raised questions on the much hyped ‘beach safety and lifeguarding services of the tourism department’ on which the government spent almost ₹141.50 crores in the last five years.
Pointing out that there were no rescue operations, Chodankar said that the poor emergency system had come to light through videos posted on various social media platforms. “Reports from eye witnesses have revealed that there were no rescue vehicles and stretchers available at Candolim beach when the incident took place. The injured tourists were lifted by the public with bare hands and taken to the 108 ambulance which was parked at a far away distance,” Chodankar stated.
The GPCC chief has demanded that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant explain to Goans whether beach safety and lifeguard services are available in Goa. He reminded that the tourism minister Babu Ajgaonkar categorically stated in the Goa Legislative Assembly on August 17, 2019 that the contract of M/s Drishti Lifesaving Pvt Ltd had expired on 30 June 2019.
“The lifeguard and beach safety contract makes it mandatory for the contractor to provide with equipments/infrastructure in good working condition during the contract. The chief minister should come clean on whether the emergency equipments, rescue vehicle etc were available on the beach when the lightning struck and tourist got injured,” Chodankar demanded, adding that it was mandatory for the contractor to have CCTV camera coverage on the beaches and high power cameras installed for night surveillance.
