Goa needs to seriously carry out a rebranding exercise to position itself as a destination for responsible tourism. A major percentage of day trippers who come from border States without any checks care two hoots about the natural beauty, they only have booze and beaches on their minds.
Post covering their favoured bases, they venture into our hinterlands and natural springs for daylong picnics carrying crate-loads of beer and other alcoholic beverages, quite possibly drugs too.
Last Sunday, on a trip to Udear springs waterfall on the Verna plateau, I was shocked to find visitors from Karnataka openly drinking and then trashing the whole place with empty beer bottles, cans and crates. When questioned, they said with a derisive laugh that this is Goa, 'yahan sub chalta hai'.
Where is the mythical 'tourist police' our CM had tom-tommed about two years ago in the wake of rising crimes? Why can't the law enforcement agencies man the high footfall attractions in the State?
Sarkar, please wake up from your slumber and save Goa from such kind of irresponsible visitors before it is too late.
