Too much of greed always falters you in life and eventually your downfall. And Goa seems to be precisely witnessing such a trend in its tourism industry.
Gone are the days when foreign tourists believed in Goa. They just fell in love with Goan beaches. And their love and admiration for Goan culture-heritage and its cuisine gave them everything they asked for. Goa now has surpassed its golden age and the end of the road seems to be written on the wall.
For any industry to progress one needs to have discipline at every sector, be it hotels-transportation and importantly administration and above all protection.
The service sectors play a very dominant factor. It may be recalled that Goa had been boasting of its tourism sector the world over for quite some time, but it has failed till date to have a decent ‘Tourism Policy’ to give direction to the industry.
I leave it to your imaginations as to why every tourism minister or the government failed on this front.
Today the domestic tourists have captured Goa and have been wreaking havoc in the state. Goa has already started to lose its charm for the foreigners.
The chaotic and indiscipline of most of the domestic tourists have cast a very negative impact. Their behaviour, be it in the city or on the beach, is deplorable to say the least. Some of them are notoriously involved in the drug trade and all sorts of activities which have only worsened the scenario.
Today, with the rent-a-car policy in the state, it has spelt a death knell to the Goan taxi drivers who have been protesting. No doubt, the taxi problems have existed ever since the last two or three decades. And politicians have always extracted maximum mileage for their selfish goals. An amicable solution should have been taken and settled the problem once for all. Hence a good solution has eluded them till date.
Secondly, today due to shortage of drivers, the rent-a-car companies have been employing mostly non-Goan drivers. This has aggravated the situation. But mind you, these drivers are solely responsible for maximum road accidents which have taken away hundreds of innocent lives in Goa. No lessons have been learnt, nor are any solutions forthcoming.
Disciplining, guidance and educating most of the drivers is the need of the hour. Displaying a driver’s badge on uniform should be made mandatory for all categories of taxi drivers. In fact, the rent-a-car and bikes have hindered taxi business.
In order to bring some discipline, the tourism department should place huge notice boards at prominent places in cities as well as on the beach fronts displaying the dos and don’ts so that every visitor reads and adheres to the rules and regulations of the state. Such information is paramount for any visitor to know and adhere.
Even the shops and restaurants should mandatorily display such boards.
The tourism police force today is a big farce, instead of reigning in the misbehaving tourists, many a times they are seen to be busy collecting their pound of flesh.
The police should command respect from the tourists and at the same time be firm and punish the guilty, come what may. A strong police force should constantly monitor the tourist belts. And with the latest communication gadgets at one’s disposal, law and order should have been at your fingertips.
It’s just a mystery how police work on the tourism front. There cannot be any ignorant policeman who doesn’t know where the drug supply comes from.
The ‘Lamanis’ loitering on the beaches is a dreadful menace and should be instantly addressed, if the department wants to bring some decent order in place. They need to be heavily fined or eject them from the beach altogether.
Also, Goa lacks total traffic discipline. The rent-a-car drivers seek total freedom and put others at great risk. Don’t drink and drive slogan is only meant for Goans, whereas make merry while driving is for domestic tourists in Goa.
In reality, there are no hard rules nor no CCTV to check and punish the traffic violators. Some of the domestic tourists once they land in Goa start behaving like goons who think themselves that they are above the law and they feel that they can drive the way they want and do whatever they can.
This attitude has to be strictly nipped in the bud. These types of visitors are also responsible for most of the garbage strewn on the beaches. Overall it’s the domestic tourists who have taken away Goa’s charm as a tourist destination.
The respective departments have to reign in and prevent misusing of shops and vendors who are also equally responsible for creating nuisance. The department has to instil discipline first and take stock of ways and means to improvise the facilities.
But the way, Goa government is functioning today, it looks that the government is only busy promoting Goa for the land grabbers in the name of tourism. And that has become a new mantra of promoting tourism.
After all, there are plenty of takers. So far till date, nothing seems to be working right for Goa. Never ever have I seen such callous attitude of the government, who promises us the moon but instead gives us fully potholed roads. Lack of good governance has been killing the golden goose.
So, unless and until the government comes clean and changes its stance and if it really wants to preserve Goa’s sanctity of peace and harmony there is no hope left for better days.
But all that we pray for is a change of heart, change of attitude to preserve our Goa, which is a harbinger of peace and harmony, well known throughout the world.
Goans have started praying for a hard-working, honest and people- friendly true Goan “CEO”, who can help us to restore Goa to its former glory and truly keep our State clean on all fronts, so that it truly deserves that tag of a “Bhangarachem Goem.”