MAPUSA
Maintaining that the tourism industry grosses maximum revenue and employment in the State, Ports Minister Michael Lobo suggested promoting sports tourism to bring more international tourists in Goa.
“Sports tourism is famous worldwide. If we can build proper infrastructure along the beaches of Goa, foreigners who are sportsmen will come with their teams and play along the beach while enjoying a vacation in the State,” Lobo said.
The Ports Minister was speaking after inaugurating a traditional beach playground at Khobra-Vaddo in Calangute.
Continuing, Lobo said if more such playgrounds come up on the beaches of Goa, then the government can easily promote sports tourism in the State.
“If we promote such tourism, many tourists who are also players will come to Goa. They will bring their entire team play along the beaches and simultaneously enjoy their vacation. They will spend at least one or two weeks in the State,” he said.
The Calangute MLA assured to build more playgrounds and parks in various parts of the constituency and disclosed that the panchayat will complete the restoration of another football ground at Poriat in Calangute by mid-January 2021.
“We can build many such playgrounds but what is important is to maintain them. The government builds a lot of infrastructural projects but when it comes to maintenance things go for a toss,” he said.
Local panchayat member, Shawn Martins informed that the restored beach playground existed in Khobra-vaddo around 30 years back.
He said gradually people stopped playing on the ground as the area got deteriorated.
“During the lockdown, a lot of locals started coming to the beach and playing football and volleyball. Some enthusiastic villagers came together and made an application to the panchayat with a plan to restore the traditional ground on the beach,” Martins stated.
He said the whole area was full of debris and garbage and needed a thorough sprucing up.
“The youth from the area got together and cleaned the entire place and collected almost two truckloads of garbage and debris,” he said.
Martins also credited the restoration of the beach playground to local MLA Michael Lobo who offered financial and moral support to the idea.
The Calangute panchayat in association with the West Coast Sports & Cultural Club helped to restore the existing traditional beach playground at Khobra-Vaddo.
Calangute Sarpanch, Dinesh Simepurushkar, ZP member Dattaprasad Dabolkar, Calangute Association President, Alirio Lobo and St Savio Sports Club President John Fernandes and others were also present at the function.
