A gang rape on one day, a molestation of a minor girl on another, and there are already demands coming in for a reorientation of the tourism policy in Goa. TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai was among the first to make this demand, saying, “Criminals from others states have become tourists in Goa. I have always been maintaining that Goa should reorient its tourism from quantity to quality tourists. This vindicates my stand as the quantity attracts some miserable people who are involved in crimes and give a bad name to the state.”
He is right when he says criminals from other States have become tourists in Goa. One of the three men from Indore, who have been held for the gang rape at Betalbatim, has been charged with the rape and murder of a girl from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, as late as on May 1, 2018. He evaded arrest in his home State and came to Goa the same month as he was charged, and repeated the crime, by raping another girl. This is absolutely shocking and goes to underline that Goa’s tourism does not draw the ‘quality’ tourist that the State should aspire to get.
This, however, is not the first instance that there has been a demand for reorienting tourism to bring in high end tourists. This demand was made a few weeks ago when people uploaded on the social media videos, pictures of tourists from buses cooking and eating by the roadside. Over the years such demands have come in at various points of time, but tourism in Goa has not changed the path it has taken.
But as demands for a change in tourism policy are made, it is also pertinent to look at the crime graph in the State. A rape, a molestation, a robbery at a petrol pump, all in three days, are not just a cause to raise eyebrows and demands for a change in tourism policies, but also a time to raise questions on policing and security in the State. So why isn’t that happening? Why has nobody asked the police what makes criminals take it easy in Goa?
The police in the State may take credit for the quick arrests of the accused in all the crimes mentioned, that they managed to arrest a person who was wanted by the Madhya Pradesh police. But successes have not come in all crimes. In another recent case, that of a murder of a woman in St Inez, Panjim, the police are still on the lookout for the accused, who is alleged to be the husband of the woman who was murdered. The sudden upward movement in the crime graph does not augur well for the security of the State.
There is no point in ignoring or dismissing the increasing crime rate in the State. A rape or a molestation of a tourist in Goa becomes national news, and if the victim is a foreign tourist, the international media turns its focus on the State. In the past there have even been advisories issued by countries giving tips to their citizens visiting Goa. As a tourist State, Goa cannot afford negative advisories, so while an adjustment in the tourism policy may be advisable, there is also the need to tighten policing in the State so that criminals are not allowed to roam freely in the State.
As the State awaits the much-delayed tourism master plan, which may reorient the industry to a better quality tourist, the government also needs to provide security for the people of the State, the Goenkars who are often forgotten in preference to the tourist. The Goan has to come first.
