Centre for Responsible Tourism, Goa

This was meant to be a white elephant . A very good idea, need of the hour actually. But a very poor choice of location.

Instead of helicopter and hot air balloon rides , below are some services tax payers money can be used .
This is to bring to your kind notice the ever-growing dismay over the plight of tourists and locals alike who go through a bad sense of commuting from Goa airport to their respective destinations.

I am from Mumbai, but originally from Goa. I come very often to be with my family members who are settled here and stay at my ancestral home.

Goa is considered to be a tourist destination, but sadly its taxi service is below the required standards. The authorities say Goa is a tourist hub, but the state doesn’t have even basic services in place.

Like every other city in India or in other countries, the very first thought that comes to my mind as soon as I arrive at the Dabolim airport is that I will have a better choice of transportation such as a cab, bus, train, metro etc. But the reality is totally different.

As one leaves the airport terminal, cabbies approach people offering services but at exorbitant prices. It is way out more than the normal fares one pays in other cities.

Not only that there are no metered taxis in Goa, which is ridiculous. How can a city, which is now in the plans of becoming a smart city afford not to have metered taxis? Where is the regular bus service as an alternate means of transport from the Goa airport?

hey should have a designated bus terminal at the airport (like most of the international airports). Goa doesn’t have a metro service, but can surely have a reliable bus/shuttle service from airport like the one available in all major city airports.

The carrying capacity is considered only when local livelyhoods are decided. CRZ is not even an issue when outside parties flout CRZ norms

Fishermen residing in the CRZ area at Gauravaddo, Calangute, alleged that a property owner has encroached on a government-owned beach-side land and also cleared sand dune vegetation.

Following a complaint by the residents to Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, the North Goa Planing and Development Authority (NGPDA) has written to the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to conduct a site inspection and check the CRZ violations.

According to a local traditional fisherman, Joao Anton Lobo, he was erecting a shed to house his seasonal workers when he was stopped by the property owner from outside Goa. “This land is not private property; it is government property and as per the CRZ notification of 2011, traditional fishermen are allowed to erect temporary structures to house their boats, fishing nets and also workers,” MLA Lobo said.

Anton Lobo also said that those how have purchased huge beach-side properties, have started fencing off the properties, thereby cutting the traditional access routes of the fishermen. This has made it impossible for them to move their boats inland for storage, he said, forcing them to keep the boats on the beach, which is unsafe. He also claimed that water sports operators have encroached on the beach where traditional fishermen conduct their fishing activities, which has affected the fish catch.

Calangute panchayat member Joseph Sequeira alleged that MLA Lobo had constructed the beach-side bungalow owned by a non-Goan at Gauravado, Calangute, which is allegedly blocking the traditional access of fishermen.

Regarding the encroachment by water sports operators, Sequeira, who represents the ward, said it was done as the people in the area wanted to operate water sport businesses.