DEMOLITION OF SHACKS AT CANDOLIM BEACH.
During Portuguese time the Candolim Beach was very clean having its
natural beauty intact. There was no hindrance of any Shacks there.
The first plain Shack was erected somewhere in 1968 by one local
Joaquim Lopes where he was selling Tea, Soft Drink and some eatables
like Sandwiches. Besides this there was one Restaurant “Ceu Mar”
built by Mr. Britto. In this Restaurant there were two rooms for
rent.
Gradually in seventies due to increase in tourist traffic, somewhere
in 1976/77 about half a dozen Shacks were erected by the locals only
when there was no Tourism Department nor CRZ formalities in existence
because till such time commercialization of tourism as it is now was
not in practice.
In Eighties due to heavy commercialization of tourism, Shacks on the
entire Candolim Beach started mushrooming when terms like Tourism
Dept. and CRZ became audible and they started exercising their control
over all the activities on the Beach. The people involved in running
this Shack business were all locals coming from low income category.
There are about 100 Shacks spread all over the Candolim Beach owned
by the locals only who earned their livelihood thru this business.
The recent spate of demolition of Shacks by the Tourism department on
Candolim Beach has put the Shack owners out of their normal track
thereby instilling fear into their minds and hearts because of the
fear of demolition of their Shacks. Those whose official paper work is
not in order are more afraid of losing their only mode of earning
their sustenance. The recent demolition of Shacks in Candolim with the
excuse that they are illegal has created a very bad image of the
government of Goa in general and Tourism Dept. in particular. Tourism
Dept. should have stopped these illegal Shacks in the beginning only
instead of waiting for the penultimate month of the season ending and
thereby killing the huge investment put into this business by the
affected Shack owners. Heaven would not fall if this demolition
operation was stayed especially in view of the people involved in this
business are all Goans. What is the use of this government if it does
not give preferential treatment to the locals?
The demolition operation of the Shacks done on Candolim Bbeach was
very ruthless, the guest tourists mainly the Westerners were not even
allowed to have their meals finished eating. They were evicted from
their dining tables as if they were Jews in Naziland. Their beach beds
were cut when they were still lying on the beds. It was totally an
inhuman operation devoid of humane attributes. These tourists are
very much hurt by the way they were shabbily treated by the
demolition squad, these tourists pumped in lot of money into Tourism
industry of Goa thereby enriching Goan economy and since this is the
case, they naturally deserve decent treatment without any fear of
trouble for them. They want to spend their time peacefully on the
Beach without any disturbance, they are not bothered whether the
Shacks where they eat and drink are legal or illegal, it is not their
business to know this. All they want is peaceful atmosphere to enjoy
their stay in Goa. Some of these tourists have even decided to prevent
their Western colleagues from coming to Goa thus giving a strong jolt
to Tourism in Goa. As it is, Tourism boom is waning in Goa and at
this juncture government of Goa should do something to give a push
forward to Tourism promotion even by eradicating the license system
for erecting Shacks.
These tourists are coming to Goa regularly since a long time now and
as such they have built a strong rapport between them and the Shack
owners who are doing their best to give very good service and
treatment to their guests. But now, these tourists numbering over a
thousand have vowed never to return back to Goa from next season to
face the humiliation of demolition squad of Tourism department and of
local Police. Some of these tourists are coming to Goa only to
maintain their friendly link and rapport they created with these
friendly Shack owners. They patronize Goan tourism only because of
these poor Goan Shack owners who promote Goan tourism beautifully
where the inputs of Tourism Department and its minister is almost a
Big Zero.
Veronica Fernandes,Candolim, Goa.Tel: 7507394349.
Posted by KRANTI at Sunday, February 22, 2015
—
Mr.Tony Cardozo
(Owner)
Rising waves Guest House
Camotim Vaddo,
Candolim,Bardez,Goa
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.risingwavegoa.com
Mob: 0091 9881772988
