CALANGUTE: The removal of beach shacks in Calangute-Candolim has been marred by confusion as approximately 70 shack owners find themselves unable to dismantle their shacks due to the authorities’ failure to deseal them.
The beach shack season concluded on May 31, and operators are expected to remove their shacks by the first week of June in preparation for the upcoming monsoon. While most shacks have already been dismantled, around 70 remain sealed, preventing their owners from proceeding with the dismantling process. However, these owners have taken precautionary measures by removing kitchen equipment, sound systems, and furniture to protect them from potential damage during the rains. Manuel Cardozo, president of the Traditional Shack Owners Association, explained that the owners have retained only the doors and basic structures of the shacks, which can be easily removed once they are desealed by the authorities.
Expressing frustration, John Lobo, the general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS), highlighted that more than 60-70 shacks sealed by the Goa State Pollution Control Board have yet to be desealed. He emphasized the urgency to close the shacks but expressed concerns over the inability of shack owners to dismantle them officially without the government’s desealing.
Lobo further warned that if shack owners were to break the seals unofficially and dismantle the shacks, they could face criminal contempt of court charges filed by the government. He revealed that the desealing order is being held back by the collector of North Goa.
Despite the shack owners’ persistent efforts to seek resolution by approaching various authorities such as the collector, deputy collector, Mapusa, and the pollution control board, little progress has been made. Only around 45 shacks have been desealed thus far.
