PORVORIM: A month after the MGP’s Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar said ‘off with bikinis,’ his Ponda MLA, Lavoo Mamledar, who is a former police officer, said that if tourism had to be promoted and is necessary, then there could be a bikini beach with entry fees.
“A beach labelled as bikini beach could be created, if we really feel that bikinis will promote tourism in Goa. There can be an enclosure and an entry fee of Rs 1000 to 2,000 could be levied. This will not only increase tourism prospects but also generate revenue,” Mamledar opined.
While this may be Lavoo’s version of partitioning men and women in different quarters or sections, this is probably the first time this has been suggested.
Well, there is this small matter of families, spouses and partners who travel together on holidays to spend time on the sand and soak in the sun. If Mamledar’s suggestion becomes a reality then women’s partners, wives, sisters and mothers will have to head to bikini beaches. But then how many such beaches can you have?
At the same time, he may also find takers for the plan with many women preferring to swim and tan in seclusion, safe from the prying eyes of male tourists.
However, the discussion on bikinis did not quite end there. Aldona MLA Glen Ticlo put a safety spin to the issue by saying that he was concerned that women who wear sarees and salwar suits in the water may get drowned since this kind of clothing is heavy. So he supported the wearing of bikinis to protect women tourists from drowning.
“You see on the beaches…I am most often there for exercises…we see tourist men are in shorts and women in sarees and salwar-kameez. It is very dangerous although lifeguards are stationed there. Women can drown…wearing of swimwear is very important. Awareness should be created,” he told the House while refusing to utter the ‘bikini’ word.
“At any beach, anywhere, there is a system. It has to be implemented,” the MLA, who recently returned from Brazil trip, added.
The Tourism Department might do well to pass on these enlightening discourses from our MLAs to their master strategists and planners so that a bikini centric master plan may be prepared. In the Assembly on Thursday, that seemed to be the focal point of all problems, or solutions.
The legislator also went on to add that while on tourism promotional trips across the country or abroad, awareness be created about do’s and don’ts in Goa. “When there is a policy formulated for banning bottles on beaches or eating or anything, awareness should be created… because if they are caught doing these things, it leaves a bad impression. Finally, they (tourists) are our ‘Laxmi’ (referring to revenue/money). We should not hurt them,” he said in yet another suggestion to the government.
