PANAJI:
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar on Tuesday slammed the Pramod Sawant government for what he called was the State's deteriorating crime situation and attributed it as one of the reasons contributing to the decline of tourism.
Citing Sunday's murder at Arambol beach, Patkar said amidst the increasing crime rate, tourists are not feeling safe anymore in Goa and are preferring to head to other destinations to holiday.
He was addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in the capital where he said the deteriorating law and order situation in the State was a result of the State government's dismal performance.
Patkar alleged that majority of the shacks are run and operated by outsiders, more particularly those from Himachal Pradesh, while referring to the details of the Arambol murder.
The shack where the murder took place was also operated by non-Goans, he said, and censured the tourism department for failure to enforce High Court and National Green Tribunal directions related to restrictions on beach beds and other amenities shacks are permitted.
Patkar also cited the recent gang rape incident in South Goa to buttress his allegations against the government and called the transfer of top police officers handling these cases "unfortunate".
