The Forest Department has finally acknowledged the ongoing noise pollution and glaring light set-up at Ashvem-Morjim coastal stretch. The department itself notified the police about the violation and also requested the men in uniform to initiate action immediatly. Till now, the government system was trying everything to make us believe that nothing major is happening. Initially Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane tweeted regarding the action taken in the case and hence, other authorities had to follow the suit. In fact how come organisers are fearlessly holding such parties? The inquiry regarding whose support they receive at local level needs to be conducted. People residing in coastal areas have the constitutional right to peaceful sleep and that cannot be violated. Locals, however, do not come forward to complain about illegal parties anymore as they have lost trust in the authorities.
This stoic silence encourages the organisers to prolong the parties as long as they want thus disturbing the peace and quiet of the night. Although the turtle conservation zone is being disturbed due to the bright lights, people do not want to get embroiled in the controversies and hence, stay away from it all. This gives out the message that the violators have someone’s backing at the local level. A businessman from somewhere comes to Goa, sets up his business here and carries out operations giving scant respect to the law of the land means he knows exactly whom to catch hold of to help him in time of need.
Since the forest minister himself tweeted and exposed the violations, the chief minister too had to order to pause the party. Police stated that no one complained against the party.
However, why is the letter sent by forest department officials not considered as a complaint? As Home Minister, the Chief Minister needs to look into this. If the local police official says that there was no complaint whatsoever, then one has to understand that the letter from the forest department may end in the dustbin. Of course, no official would behave in such a manner without political blessings. Also, why should police wait till receiving a complaint in such matters? The responsibility to enforce law lies in the hands of the government department and more so on the police. If the department which is expected to actively enforce law itself sits and waits to receive the complaints then who should the locals approach? The reasons why people do not step forward to file the complaints also has to be thought though. The people have seen how the complainants have been treated previously. There is no use of wisdom infront of power and hence, people quietly suffer instead of raising their voices. Although such parties are organised to attract one particular group of visitors, the majority of the tourists prefer to stay away from such crowded spaces. The tourists come seeking the beautiful beaches, its sand and sea and the quiet atmosphere. The districts from neighbouring states such as Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Uttara Kannada (Karwar) are going toe-to-toe with Goa in the tourism sector. The number of visitors in these regions are the same as Goa. The coastal region in our State is concretised which is why it is losing its natural charm. This has led to a decrease in the attraction towards beaches. It was necessary to provide alternate options to the visitors once the tourists’ interest in the beaches started to dwindle but alas, there is no progress there yet either. The announcement of adjoining coastal tourism with other parts of the State has stayed only on the paper for the last 10-12 years. The State lacks facilities required to make the tourists’ stay comfortable to this day. The Tourism Master Plan has been drawn up and the current Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte does work hard. Needless to mention, he will succeed in disciplining the tourism sector in the near future. He too, should take note if someone under the garb of tourism disturbs turtle nesting campaigns. A total of 35 Olive Ridleys have laid more than 2900 eggs at Morjim which goes on to show how much the turtles love that beach. The crowd gathers in large when the eggs hatch and the hatchlings make their way into the sea. The Tourism Minister will definitely initiate a turtle festival but the turtles have to survive in the first place for such festivals to take place. While preventing the incidents which scare away turtles, it has also become extremely necessary to preserve the beauty and peace of our coast.
