SHOCKED AND SHACK-LED: The Goa season of hope is raining sorrow

Rains, high tide deliver double whammy to beach shack operators across the State
SHOCKED AND SHACK-LED: The Goa season of hope 
is raining sorrow
Published on

CALANGUTE/MAJORDA: It’s been a harrowing start of the season for beach shacks with the continuing rain affecting the setting up of the temporary structures on the beach.

On Thursday, full moon day, the there was a high tide, which inundated a large number of shacks in Baga, Calangute, Candolim, Majorda besides elsewhere in the State.

“Whatever work was done yesterday, was washed away at night. Some parts of the beach at Umtawaddo, Calangute, became so eroded, there was a lake where the shacks were being erected,” Manuel Cardozo, president of the Goan Traditional Shacks Owners Association said.

With the tourism department renewing the beach shack licenses early in August, shack owners, who have faced topsy-turvy times since the sudden Covid lockdown, had hoped for an early start to the season. Many had started erecting their shacks after Ganesh Chathurthi, and some had also commenced operations, only for the rains to play spoilsport.

“Nobody wants to miss the Diwali season, so everybody wants their shacks ready by then, because Diwali is half the season for business,” Cardozo said.

Shack operators from South Goa district particularly from Majorda village are grappling with the effects of rising sea levels even as they opined that it was due to full moon.

Shack owners were panicked as sea water entered into their shacks.

One of the shack operators Camilo Cardozo said that they have been witnessing the high tide and low tide even during night. “I have been operating shack for the last 32 years. So this is not new to me and I had predicted it. We have seen both, high tide and low tide and water level rising during high tide even during night. This is the effect of high tide.” he said adding that in the past people had even complained to the police that shack operators were dredging sand and diverting water.

Cardozo said that they had taken note of the yellow alert issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Also for the first time the government gave us licences on time to put up the shacks, unlike in the past when licences were issued much after the tourism season had started.

Taking this opportunity Cardozo urged the State government to compensation for the loss they suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Another shack operators said that his shack was partly damaged due to water entering in. Even deck beds and umbrellas were damaged, he said.

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