The cyclonic winds named Ockhi that passed the seas off Goa may have resulted in waves entering shacks and causing damage to equipment but business sentiment has not been affected. Members of the industry felt with the season on, the focus would have to be on the tourists coming into the State.

A visit to Mobor revealed a site that was returning to business as usual. At Khadivaddo there are 11 shacks of which one was completely destroyed and five did not suffer any damage. The rest suffered some loss. Domingo Souza of Dom Beach Shack said the beds he kept in front of his shack had been submerged and they were unprepared when it happened because something like this had never happened in all the years he was running shacks on the stretch. Business, he said was good and he had the Russians and the English visiting the shack and he had no plans to seek compensation for the four beds he had lost during the flood.

David Aguiar of Island Beach shack said he had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 60,000 to 70,000 with him having lost the Cuddappa tiles, the fridges as well as the food stuffs stored in them. Business he said had been affected on those two days but now it was back to normal. Business conducted at these shacks run into five figures. Mario Cardozo who runs Silver Beach Shack said it was not uncommon to conduct business to the tune of approximately Rs 50,000 a day. That number may be heavily audited because another person who is part of the trade but who does not wish to come on record said the numbers were way higher because many of them kept their shacks open till very late with the music switched off.     

Cruz Cardozo, president, Shack owners Association said these floods could not have come at a worse time. He claimed business was down by 40% and he hoped it would pick up by Christmas and the New Year.  North Goa he said would survive due to the large number of domestic tourists that frequented the area. The hotels in the south were looking for mice events, he claimed and the people who attended these events stayed in the hotel. And that made it very tragic because the shacks in the south needed help from the government to help them tide over these times. According to him, the shack owners had suffered a loss of approximately Rs 70-80 lakh and the government had to help by compensating them.    

Menino D’Souza, Director of Tourism, Govt of Goa said the collectors had been instructed to check the damage and present a report in 2 days. This would help the government understand the scale of the damage. Menino said “This was an exception and it was the highest tide ever which could have been caused by the super moon. The shack owners association can claim whatever they want while demanding compensation but based on the report a decision will be taken.”

The response from the charter operators were very revealing when asked if business would be affected. Earnest Dias, VP, Kuoni Travel India (Pvt) Ltd said it would have no effect. Mr Dias said “When it happened the charters wanted to know the details and we kept them informed. No cancellation nothing of the sort. This season Goa will welcome well over 1000 charter flights”. He ended by saying it would be a good year. Another operator who did not want to be named said, business would not be affected and when information was provided immediately, the worries subsided. He said the operators thought the whole of Goa was affected and when it was informed that it in certain parts, their fear subsided.  He however went onto add that this was bound to happen sometime or the other because of man’s obsession of tangling with nature. He said “What business do the shacks have being so close to the waterfront. The crz zone has been flouted.”

Savio Messias, President, TTAG said business would not be affected. People visiting the State had several options and with a few shacks having been affected the business had not be hit. He said “I feel the tourists will have more areas to relax. This season will be good.” Perhaps the final word should go to a senior executive of a charter operator who said “Let’s face it several of these shacks flout the rules. You have masseuses who crowd around these shacks and who can forget about that instance that was reported earlier in the year of a shack in Baga where people were dancing all night long to loud music. The season will be very good and the number of charter flights expected is well over 1000 but we need to follow the rules”

The cyclonic storm may have momentarily caused a lapse but according to indications it will be a good season and people will be happy at the end of it all when they add up the numbers.