Tourism Dept procures chain saw to cut illegal deck beds, tables
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
Panjim: They come, see and saw!
That’s the new mantra of the Tourism Department to rid Goa’s beaches of the continuing menace of illegal deck beds and tables laid out by shack operators.
A new electric chain saw has been procured by the Tourism Department and put to effective use to reduce mushrooming beach furniture which narrows the public beach area.
“The earlier exercise of conducting raids was turning out to be extremely troublesome, considering the fact that the Department had to engage manpower, trucks and space to store the seized items,” said a senior Department official.
The new chain saw can be put to use instantly without having to mobilize staff and vehicles.
“It is now easier to conduct random and surprise checks and cut up the illegal items in less than five minutes,” said this official.
While in Morjim more than 25 such deck beds and tables have come under the whirring chain saw, close to a 100 have been dismantled and reduced to pieces along the Candolim, Calangute, Baga stretch. An exercise which took off on a trial basis earlier this month, is now proving to be an effective tool for clear out illegalities along the beach belt.
“The situation is relatively under control in South Goa,” said this department official. However, random checks and sawing up of illegal deck beds have also been reported in the South.
It is not difficult to identify the illegal items as under the rules every licensed deck bed has to prominently display its number, explained this official.
Presently, hotels having beach frontage are permitted 12 deck beds, beach shacks are permitted 20 and unemployed youth have been allowed 8 deck beds.
While the Department had procured only one chain saw, it is now proposing to procure more, as the experiment has been quite successful in reducing the illegalities.
The Department says that they are authorized under the policy to take such action. However, cutting up of the illegal deck beds is enough punishment for the offenders and no further penalty is to be levied against the erring shack operators.
