Team Herald
CALANGUTE: The Calangute Panchayat is unable to do much about the touts, pimps, beggars, hawkers and other unwanted elements in the tourism hotspot because it does not have the powers to do so, sarpanch Joseph Sequeira said.
“All these are giving a bad name to Calangute,” he said, responding to allegations by locals about touts and other illegal activities during a gram sabha of the Calangute panchayat on Sunday.
“We approached the tourism director to come and check such activities as they are giving a bad name to Calangute. But they’re not bothered. We’ve also written to the police. We cannot do anything because we don’t have the power. We don’t have support to clean up Calangute,” he informed the gram sabha.
Pointing out that the Tourism Department has been issuing ‘certificates’ to individuals who are permitted to do ‘photography’ on the beach and has also been authorising many ‘guides’, he said, “They have given the contract to one person from Porvorim who sub-contracts these services to individuals. When we went to check recently, we found that these people have certificates from the Tourism Department to do photography and be guides. But these same people also offer tourists services like prostitution and dance bars,” he said.
“It’s up to the Tourism Department to crackdown on these illegalities. If we get police protection we’re ready to act. It’s for the police to take action, but they’re hand-in-glove with these people,” Sequeira said.
He said they recently rounded up some touts along with police and took them to the police station. “They pay the fine and are back again in the same places. Recently we also rounded up balloon sellers. Then there are beggars.”
The issue of the large number of bouncers present outside clubs and restaurants was also raised by locals.