TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CALANGUTE: Despite a ban on the sale and use of glass bottles on beaches in the State, tourists have been carrying liquor bottles to Calangute beach and the discarded and broken bottles have been endangering other visitors to the beach.
Annoyed that tourists have been frequently seen carrying and drinking alcohol in glass bottles, locals in the area have also blamed the authorities for not doing enough to address the problem.
A visit to Calangute beach at about 7 am a few days ago revealed the presence of 63 glass beer bottles, besides other liquor glass bottles, soft drink bottles and beer cans, scattered at one part of Calangute beach.
While some glass beer bottles were found broken, a few glass beer bottles were also dumped at the newly built Calangute Beach Promenade, turning it into a dumping site for glass bottles.
“The tourists simply throw away the glass bottles in a haphazard manner on the beach and many of them break in the process. The glass pieces are sometimes hidden in the sand and pose a threat to tourists, locals or children walking or playing on the beach. In fact, a few children have already got cuts and wounds on their feet due to the glass pieces on the beach,” remarked a local.
“A fun-filled day at the beach is often marred by the irresponsible attitude of tourists who simply throw away glass bottles on the beach,” the local added.
Complained another local, Velino D’Souza, “It seems that we are promoting the world famous Calangute Beach to Indian tourists without taking safety standards into consideration.”
“A new look is being given to Calangute Beach, but it is not safe to children or tourists as there are plenty of broken glass bottles hidden in the sand. Children playing in sand often get wounds due to the broken glass pieces, but who is bother to do anything in the matter,” asked D’Souza.
Admitting that the discarded glass bottles have posed a major problem at Calangute beach, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has, however, blamed the tourist police for failing to implement the rules.
“The ban on carrying glass beer or liquor bottles still exists, but the problem is that the Tourist Police is not so keen in implementing the rules. The Tourist Police only informs the tourists not to carry glass bottles, but glass bottles are openly being carried by the tourists. There should be strict implementation of the rules with an officer of a PSI rank to penalise and fine those tourists found violating the rules.”
“Indian tourists have been obeying rules in other tourist destinations in other parts of the world, so why can’t they be expected to do so in Goa? In Goa and in other parts of India, we tend to take things for granted and this should be stopped to ensure discipline on our beaches,” Lobo added.
