We are standing at the doorstep of the peak of the tourist season, and the mood of the stakeholders – hotels and restaurants – which has been until now in the dumps is upward looking; the tourists footfalls this tourist season have been slow and far between. It definitely is the right time for an all-night Christmas celebration.
The Colva beach is quite clean, cleaner than it has been in years, and garbage reduced considerably. Few dogs, too. The majority have mysteriously disappeared and the lighting near the main square is good.
No need to organise a garbage festival this year, after all. No unmanageable crowds, as in the north of Goa. If South Goa continues this way maybe in future when people say they are going on a holiday they will mean South Goa. Let’s wait and see.
The policemen who are everywhere including on the approach roads to
Colva are indeed a welcome sight, and an assurance to Goans who live here as well as people who visit the State on holiday. They appear to be friendly which is nice. I have not seen a single policeman who had a nasty look on his face. Most appear to be young which is fortunate, and might explain why they look happy.
But, then, all is not hunky-dory as only a few days ago I saw a jeep full of people who stopped their vehicle by the side of a road, and started picnicking in paradise. They really know how to manage a budget. Maybe they could teach the Goa government a trick or two. All kinds of goodies were unpacked in no time at all. Picnic in paradise. No charge. Free.
Communities and neighbourhoods need to team up to keep the environment clean. Picnickers and others on a shoe-string budget who use public space to party in Goa need to be told in no uncertain terms to go away if they overstep their rights. Villagers and other communities need to send them a clear message. Remember, there is strength in numbers and cooperation. People power is the need of the hour. No need for violence, only the message that our culture does not approve of this kind of behaviour.
The most important shrine in Colva is the sulabh toilet where a lot of people queue up. They remind me of queues outside movie theaters in my youth waiting to see a popular movie. The tourists often arrive by bus or even in big cars. The government needs to build at least another two sulabh toilets.
The government has banned drinking in public places; but it continues. If tourists decide to party in paradise, the first lesson they need to learn is the time and place, the when and where. And, not leave empty liquor and beer bottles on the entire stretch of beach.
Dear tourists, raise your glasses high to a toast. But, remember, there is a price to pay: even in paradise.
