OLD GOA
Tour guides taking tourists to visit the world-famous churches at Old Goa were taken aback after all side entrances to the churches were closed and only the main entrances were kept open.
The action to close the side gates apparently comes against the backdrop of bombing of churches in Sri Lanka and increased security measures at churches in the State.
What has irked the tourist guides is that there was nobody to inform them about the changes and the sudden closure of the side gates had caused severe inconvenience to their guests, most of whom have travelled from all over the world to admire the world-famous churches.
“Normally, we visit the Basilica and then walk over to the other side to visit the other churches, namely St Francis of Assisi and Se Cathedral. From there, we exit using the side entrances where vehicles are parked so that tourists do not have to walk all the way back in the hot sun,” informed Anand Sawant, former president of Tourist Guides Federation of India, Goa chapter.
“But since all other side entrances are blocked, we now have to make tourists walk back to the main entrance, which is very tiring and inconvenient.”
“What is more disappointing is that there is nobody to advice us about the changes,” complained Sawant. “A cruise liner is visiting Goa on Saturday and it will definitely create a big inconvenience to foreign tourists, who find the heat unbearable.”
Another tour guide said the police do not allow vehicle parking on the main road for long. “How are we supposed to deal with this, particularly when there are tourists who are too old to walk long distances,” questioned the tourist guide.
