PANAJI
The death of tourist Shivani Dabale and paragliding instructor Suman Nepali in a horrific mishap finally jolted the State government into action, and exclusive guidelines for the State that did not exist before will now be a reality.
The department is now reviewing the existing registrations issued under the Goa Registrations of Tourist Trade Act pertaining to paragliding activities - both motorized and non-motorized - to ensure compliance with requisite safety standards.
This action comes three days after a similar tragedy in Himachal Pradesh’s Gadsa Valley, where a tourist from Tamil Nadu died and the pilot was injured, led to the activity’s suspension. The HP government also responded by ordering a magisterial inquiry. In Goa, however, the deaths are being investigated only at the police station level.
As the Tourism Department admitted that no permissions had been granted for the activity at Keri plateau, new set of guidelines are soon to come.
“We have suspended the activities until new guidelines are framed. It’s too early to comment on the incident but we will ensure no such illegalities occur once new protocols are in place," a senior official, overseeing the coordination among depts for the activity, said.
Sources confirmed that the state is working on the lines of the Central guidelines to regulate paragliding activities at the State level.
“We are working on safety protocols, including backup plans for emergencies mid-air..." he said conceding there was no contingency plan in place in the Keri incident which made the mishap unavoidable.
Asked on the unchecked violation, the source stated they have a team working in coordination with the Tourist police.
However, the authorities are tight-lipped how the illegality was overlooked, if such unauthorised activity was taking place elsewhere and coordination gap among the stakeholders.
In 2018, the Centre released the Indian Adventure Tourism Guidelines to streamline safety standards outlining risk mitigation measures, emergency response protocols and quality benchmarks. However, being non-binding, their enforcement has been patchy at best, the source added. “States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have attempted to regulate their adventure sports sectors, but Goa lags behind. There has been some neglect,” he said. "The new guidelines will put everything systematically. For now, violators are warned of Rs 50,000 fine. Police are requested to coordinate."
As of now, guidelines under the Ministry of Civil Aviation had been followed while carrying out the activity.
