TEAM HERALD
The South Goa Congress Lok Sabha candidate Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco today met the office bearers of the ‘Goa Entertainment and Tourism Stakeholders’ Association’ (GETSA) to discuss various issues related to entertainment and tourism in the State. The office bearers of GETSA expressed their utmost dissatisfaction at the attitude of the BJP government towards Goan stakeholders and were highly critical of the anti-Goan stance of the Parrikar government which has allowed non-Goans to hijack the entertainment and tourism industries of Goa.
The GETSA office bearers said that the government’s autocratic and dictatorial decisions without consulting any Goan stakeholder meant that non-Goans were being awarded all important government tenders like beach management, beach cleaning, beach safety, water sports, etc. Even organisation of all the major entertainment events like the EDM festivals, IFFI & Lusofonia Games ceremonies, etc were offered to non-Goans, with Goan artistes and entrepreneurs not being given any opportunity to exhibit their talents and skills.
Reginaldo promised the GETSA that he would do his utmost to ensure that Goans be given priority in the entertainment and tourism sectors and that he would see that all the grievances of Goan stakeholders are given proper hearing by the authorities. He promised to work to streamline the implementation of the single window system for entertainment events, beach shacks allotment policy, water sports policy, etc and to put up adequate number of changing rooms and toilets on all major Goan beaches. He criticised the Govt’s part in turning a blind eye to all illegalities by non-Goan organisers, including 36-hour non-stop rave parties, which were offered protection by BJP MLAs. He reminded the GETSA office bearers that these issues had been raised in the Legislative Assembly by Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai and that he had supported him in the deliberations in the House. He promised them that, if elected to the Lok Sabha, he would definitely raise these issues in Parliament to seek fair solutions and that he would join them, if necessary, on the streets to agitate for a pro-Goan Entertainment & Tourism Policy.
The ‘Goa Entertainment and Tourism Stakeholders’ Association’ (GETSA) office bearers expressed their happiness and satisfaction at Reginaldo’s approach and response to their problems and pledged their support to him for the forthcoming elections.
