Stray cattle at Colva Beach as the State ushers in the new tourist season. Captured by : Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte’s diktat to tourism officials, alongside the men in uniform, to come down heavily on touts swarming around the iconic Colva beach may be good news for tourism stakeholders.
But what about the stray cattle and dogs? Who will take care of the strays on the world-class beach, visited by thousands of domestic and foreign visitors every year?
As the State ushers in a new tourism season, with the beach shacks in place along the Colva beach belt, the same old issues of strays making the beach their second home have come to confront the authorities, including the tourism officials.
On the day when Colva beach was inundated by rising seawater, visitors trod cautiously, not just because the beach was flooded, but also due to the stray animals present. The presence of strays on the beach in significant numbers indicates that the concerned authorities have failed to address the issue of strays on the beach belt.
In the past, suggestions were made to enlist NGOs working in the field of animal welfare to take stray cattle to gaushalas for their proper upkeep. However, the situation has not improved, with strays finding their way to the beach.
Locals pointed out that the menace of stray dogs at the world-famous beach is far from over, with no authority engaged in the task of looking after the strays.
A tourism stakeholder stated that the presence of strays, including cattle and dogs, gives a negative image to the beach. “We want tourists to leave with sweet memories, not bitter incidents of attacks by stray dogs. The government should intervene immediately and take the stray cattle to the cattle pounds run by NGOs. NGOs should also be involved to tackle the issue of stray dogs on the beach,” the stakeholder said.
