Recently, I visited Aguade Fort and the jail premises. Subsequently I visited the rampart of the fort in Sinquerim and went to visit Calangute beach. Since I was driving a car I had to pay to use the panchayat’s pay parking. At all four places, I ended up paying Rs 100 each, totaling to Rs 400. The entire visit lasted for just under three hours.
This is not a letter to complain about the parking fees, which seems high. My problem is the separate charges I had to pay at each location within a short duration of time. If the panchayat can make a provision to use a single ticket at the three nearby locations at Aguada within two hours, the visitors can save up to Rs 200. This provision can exclusively be applied to local vehicles.
I hope the panchayat takes it upon themselves to unburden the locals from such charges. While the tourists maybe able to afford to pay for such fees, it is hard to imagine that all ordinary Goans will be able to afford it. The system of allowing free entry to Goans to visit the Dona Paula jetty is a good example of ‘best tourism practices’.
