Goa’s tourism ministers, department heads and empanelled advertising agencies have, over the past decade, been eager to stage profligate road shows and foreign jaunts across continents claiming to bring more international tourists to the State. But this ferocity and zealousness is not evident to save the beaches, which are the milking cow of Goa’s tourism and which stand the danger of being extinguished by the invading wrath of the ocean and human activity, over the last decade.
The entire “sun-sand-surf” branding of Goa, which sprung up almost by default, when the ‘flower children’ discovered the pristine beaches, and sparked the genesis and prosperity of tourism in Goa, now stands in danger of being completely washed away, if Goa government does not act fast. Private sector resorts, hoteliers, shack owners, water sports operators, off shore casinos, everyone benefiting from coastal tourism, scientists and the National Institute of Oceanography, as an institution, should come together to protect the beaches, by pooling financial and intellectual resources in right earnest.
The past devastation of Kerim, Candolim and Betalbatim beaches has received lukewarm response from the government with some efforts initiated, but which do not seem convincing enough to draw confidence that the beaches will be saved. The recent wrecking of Baina and Velsao beaches without any cyclonic conditions, indicates the real danger that the Goan beaches face due to gradually changing environmental patterns.
How far have the key physical parameters to identify coastal erosion been understood including coastal geomorphology, wind, wave and tidal impact? How have human activities along the seacoast and backwaters, such as illegal land reclamation for building dockyards or houses, resorts infringing on the coast, destruction of khazan lands, sand extraction etc been responsible for water ingress? Has satellite technology been used for mapping all these patterns – both natural and human? How many coordinated discussions on this phenomena have been held in Goa, by government and other agencies?
There is a dire need for weighing in on the Centre to arrest beach destruction by using its financial and scientific resources. If national marine, engineering or geological expertise is inadequate, international help should be sought, including from the United Nations. Hard and soft options need to be explored. Those schemes which have failed elsewhere and instead aggravated the problem need not be adopted here. From face value, hard engineering options such as erecting seawalls will make the coastline ugly. Instead soft structural options such as beach nourishment/feeding, dune building, re-vegetation and other non-structural management options can be explored.
Goa had plenty of dunes and coastal vegetation, but this has been destroyed since the eighties by the hotels and encroachers, in connivance with some state level and local politicians, who promoted illegalities. Some hotels have even used sand from dunes to construct their resorts. Others have encroached on the coast by showing imaginary roads from Town and Country plans which do not reflect ground realities.
While natural processes may be difficult to comprehend, and will need long term studies, the government has the power and responsibility to regulate and punish human activity that has serious repercussions on the environment. To the errant MLAs, TCP and panchayat officials who allow illegalities, compromising on environmental regulations is a matter of party or monetary compulsions. However, the repercussions of these ‘little illegalities’ can be devastating.
In Goa, sometimes government-the-law-maker, itself becomes the law-breaker. To quote an example, the debris of the collapsed Mandovi bridge was dumped in front of the old Secretariat. Was it coincidental that the Nerul (coco) beach was completely destroyed due to this blunder? Houses in that village built close to the shore are on the verge of collapse. Similarly, the illegal filling of land in the estuary of the Zuari river has impacted the Siridao and Bambolim beaches.
It is high time the government launches massive emergency efforts and holds high level meetings with the Central government, scientists or seeks foreign expertise to retain the tag line of ‘ beach paradise’ that Goa flaunts, by saving its beaches.
