The Goan Network
PANAJI
With mandatory CCTV rule for beach shacks falling apart, the State government swiftly changed gear and has decided to install high resolution cameras on beaches for this season.
Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said on Thursday that in a bid to make beaches safer, the tourism department is planning to have one high resolution CCTV camera each on all beaches of the State.
Actually, as per the policy, all shacks are supposed to install CCTV camera. But, shacks haven’t been cooperating and have not done so. The tourism department has also failed to implement this rule so far, Parulekar said.
“We have been trying to ensure that shacks install CCTV cameras. But, they (shack operators) are in denial mode. To resolve this problem, we have decided that we will have one high resolution camera each on all beaches of 107 kilometer long beach belt of the state,” he said.
Parulekar even informed that the State is getting assistance from the central government for getting funds for installing these cameras. The tendering process for this is already underway.
When asked if the high resolution cameras will be a possibility in this season, Parulekar said, “The tendering process is going on, as of now. Once we select the bidder, we intend to have these cameras installed and working around December this year.”
But, CCTV cameras, per se, are of no use, if they aren’t monitored by the police. Parulekar said, “We are going to have a monitoring room in Tourism Bhavan in Patto. This room will be linked to police headquarters. Due to this, police sitting in the headquarters will be able to know what is happening on the beaches."
The plans are not just to have CCTV cameras, as Parulekar informed, "tourism department is also trying to have portable toilets on all the beaches. These moves are aimed at making the beaches of Goa better and safer for tourists as well as locals," he said.
Parulekar admitted that at present the monitoring is weak on the beaches, but was quick to add that the proposed move to have CCTV cameras will help police in keeping a tight check on crime happening on the beach belt.
