Goan Beach Shack Owners Seek Resolution Association president wants greater cooperation in promoting state tourism Armstrong Vaz
"Do not come to Goa, there is chaos in Goa," says the draft message the All-Goa Shack Owners Association is planning to insert as advertisements in a couple of English-language dailies to draw the attention of tourists. The message is intended to garner support over the sun beds issue, a tangle that the state government must resolve before the next tourist season begins in October in the Indian state of Goa. If the sun beds row is not resolved by the government the advertisements are one of the options the association is towing with, says its president, Cruz Cardozo. Goa beach shacks are temporary, palm leaf-covered structures that require permission from the government to operate for period from October to May. In April the state government placed a policy on the allotment of sun beds and beach umbrellas for 2007-08 before a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa. "The policy came in the wake of the strong stand taken by the Court over the failure of the tourism authorities to curb illegalities. Now only five pairs of sun beds and five beach umbrellas will be permitted for each shack and if more than the permitted deck beds and umbrellas are found they would be confiscated," the Hindu reported. The shack owners fear that the same yardstick will be implemented next year, spelling doom for them. "The policy came in the wake of the strong stand taken by the Court over the failure of the tourism authorities to curb illegalities. Now only five pairs of sun beds and five beach umbrellas will be permitted for each shack and if more than the permitted deck beds and umbrellas are found they would be confiscated," the Hindu reported. The shack owners fear that the same yardstick will be implemented next year, spelling doom for them. "We need permission for twenty sun beds per shack," said association president Cardozo. "Categorizing the entire coastal belt on the same line is per se not good for the trade. The foreign tourists come to sun tan and lesser number of beds will not be fair for tourists. "Foreign tourists come to Goa because of the shack owners," said Cardozo. For justification, Cardozo points out that last year, on account of the government's failure to issue beach licenses at the start of the season in October, many foreign tourists were forced to cancel their trips to Goa and opt for another location. "The delay of one and half month caused many a confusion in the mind of the tourist," he said. The association is gearing up to move to the Goa bench of the Mumbai High Court over the sun bed issue and is resolved to get an assurance form the government that licenses for the coming season will be issued by the first week of October. Meanwhile, Cardozo asserts that more regulations are needed. "Garbage it the biggest headache and local panchayats [village councils] have been unable to lift garbage from beaches for lack of dumping grounds. Sewage water has been released by some people in nullahs [streams] like in Colva," he said. "We need to demarcate bathing zones and areas for water sports. Safety of the tourists should be the prime consideration. We need to have more parking facilities near the beaches. Lack of proper illumination of roads is another concern. Construction of changing rooms for tourists is also needed." Cardozo also complained about the men and women who "loiter" on the beach and "harass" people into buying their wares, giving tourists a "bad impression." All the stake holders in the state "need to promote our sports, cultural, hinterland and backwaters tourism to add to beach tourism," he said, warning that if they didn't other tourist destinations would soon overtake Goa. The association is planning to meet in the first week of June to forward a list of proposals to the government highlighting the grievances of the shack owners to the Tourism Department and suggesting measures the government needed to take to stem the rot the association sees settling in the tourism trade. "Goa has all the natural resources to be the number one tourist spot. But besides the naturally God-sent beauty, our government has not done nothing to upgrade and maintain the beach side tourism," Cardozo said. "We pay 30,000 rupees as yearly fees but we do not get value for the money paid to the government." http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=434277&; no=382551&rel_no=1 ~(^^)~ Avelino
