CALANGUTE: Calangute villagers on Sunday alleged that the Tourism Promotion and Management Bill 2024 has been drafted “only to make money” by the tourism authorities and resolved to oppose it.
Highlighting various issues at the gram sabha on Sunday, Tourism stakeholders claimed that the “entire bill is tout friendly”, pointing out that legitimate businesses like small guesthouses and hotels of locals are proposed to be fined even Rs 10 lakh for non-compliance of norms, while illegal touts and pimps will only be fined Rs 10,000.
“There are at least 1,000 touts in Calangute and each individual earning around Rs 10,000 every day. There are people taking commission from touts. Even if it is only Rs 1,000, one can calculate the amount of money that is being made,” Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) president Premanand Divkar said.
Villagers said the bill has been drafted by a Hyderabad firm which has no idea about the ground reality in Goa and without consulting any of the coastal tourism villages for the proposed tourism clusters. Villagers adopted a resolution to demand that the bill be withdrawn.
Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira said they have already written to the tourism minister and others to extend the time period for objections and suggestions.
Divkar also demanded action against the sound pollution caused by beach shacks. “All the beach shacks play deafening music in the night. This is not music but a nuisance. If one shack plays loud music, the next shack plays it even louder,” he said, and suggested that the authorities set up a “control room” which could regulate the volume of all shacks.
“There will be 100 people in a shack playing loud music, and only two tourists in a shack without music. So everyone has started playing loud music. There is competition between shacks,” Manuel Cardozo, president of the Goan Traditional Shacks Owners (GTSO) said.
The Sarpanch said the village panchayat is ready to provide a room to set up a control room to monitor the sound levels of the music in beach shacks.
