CALANGUTE: Illegal activities like dance bars in Calangute can only be stopped if the government has the will to do so, the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) said on Friday.
“If the authorities in Mumbai with such a huge population can stop thousands of dance bars overnight, then why can’t it be done here,” Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) president Premanand Divkar said.
“It appears that the government authorities in Goa are incapable of handling these problems. If they have the will then these things can be done away with,” he said referring to the alleged dance bars and cheating of tourists by touts in Calangute.
CCF members on Friday met the Calangute sarpanch regarding various issues in the village. Talking to reporters, Divkar said they suggested steps to conserve the bio-diversity and eco-sensitive areas in the village.
“Calangute was a world-famous village filled with coconut trees and greenery. Now all that has vanished and in their place there are big resorts and building projects. The attention has been shifted to the fields and hills,” he said.
“There is a need to mark eco-sensitive areas. If we don’t do it now, then it will be difficult to sustain the village in future. The water resources department (WRD)
has recently started work on a water storage facility in the fields at Boa Viagem which is likely to embolden others.
If the government does land-filling of fields, even if it is in public interest, then people will follow their leaders and do the same. The Boa Viagem and Baga hills are the lungs of Calangute and if they are destroyed, then it will become unsustainable,” he said.
The CCF had recently filed a petition against the outline development plan (ODP) for Calangute-Candolim. “The CCF has been taking up issues in Calangute constituency in public interest in the last few years, and we will continue to do so,” Divkar said.
