Herald: There appears to be confusion. If the public health rules make it mandatory for a “provision for male masseurs for the massage of males and female masseurs for the massage of females”, then why is cross massaging allowed? Don’t you offer cross gender therapy Sumeet Bhobe: Please note that the wording here is `provision’ and not `prohibition’! It means we provide
males for males if customers desire but that doesn’t prohibit us from offering cross gender therapists if guests so want.
Rule F of the Goa Public Health Act is being grossly misinterpreted by
everyone. Is the health department saying that stand alone spas like us
and countless 5 star resorts across Goa whose very USP is their luxurious
spas, having invested crores of rupees are also knowingly and blatantly
flouting the rules since 2010? I think it is everyone’s right to choice and that right must be respected.
Herald: You say that the health department is harassing you. How? Sumeet Bhobe: I’m sad to say that our health department is completely uninformed, unequipped and unexposed.
They are rude and abrasive in their approach and they intimidate our staff and guests present in our establishments. In several instances, they have
barged into treatment rooms while massages were in progress on a self-sanctioned ‘raid’. Who has given them the right to conduct these ‘raids’?
That job is of the
police, who are doing
it very efficiently and
effectively, thanks to SP Karthik
Kashyap under the aegis of the DG
Mohan.
The GSSA will take the
Department of Health and its errant
officials to court for this harassment. I
would like to ask them, who has given
them powers to arbitrarily walk into
our premises and threaten, intimidate
legitimate businesses?
Herald: Why hasn’t the industry
been pro-active on exposing
those who are running sex
rackets in the name of parlours?
There is a belief that even above
board spas like yours have
turned a blind eye knowing
exactly who the operators are
as long as your business isn’t
getting affected.
Sumeet Bhobe: In what capacity
can we possibly intervene? For a tiger
to attack, it has to have teeth! These
teeth have to be given to us by the
government and we are in the process
of demanding those teeth. Moreover,
as exposed recently, it came to light
that several of these illegal spas
were paying off the law enforcement
agencies and they also managed to
get the coveted Health NOC!
Fortunately for us, the current
police officers are pro-active and
honest. They are genuinely taking
efforts to rid the industry of this
plague.
This spate of illegal spas has
exploded in the last 18 months, hence
we formed an association a year
ago to try and put some checks and
balances in place.
We have already prepared a white
paper to be submitted to the CM and
shall be doing so shortly.
Herald: If the Government does moot
a strict Zero Cross Gender policy than
what will be the fallout/effects on the
industry?
Sumeet Bhobe: This kind of move
will finish the industry. This move
will render our business completely
unviable. Gender segregation will
mean that spa owners will have to hire
twice the number of staff. It will mean
discrimination, both against men or
women and will mean denial of our
fundamental constitutional rights of
choice. Nothing will be achieved by
this kind of mindless segregation.
Herald: There are allegations that
most spas do not have an NOC from
the health department. Is that true?
Sumeet Bhobe: I think we are
confusing legality with regularity.
Not having an NOC from a certain
department makes the establishment
‘Irregular’ not ‘Illegal’. It’s a matter of
compliance and enforcement.
Today, even if a spa is conducting
their business in a clean manner,
without indulging in prostitution or
any other immoral activities, they are
denied license renewal by the Health
Department. On the other hand,
several spas that were involved in
trafficking and prostitution had valid
licenses from the Health Department!
Herald: What is the GSSA (Goa Salon
& Spa Association) doing about the
increasing number of immoral/illegal
spas mushrooming all over the state?
Sumeet Bhobe: No doubt these fly
by night operators have given the
industry a very bad name. We have
prepared a white paper on suggestions
to audit and regulate the industry
which we plan to present to the
chief minister and authorities shortly.
Unfortunately, there are no attempts
made to put sensible guidelines in
place. The recent cleanup operation
to shutdown ‘shady spas’ undertaken
by the police was a blessing for the
legitimate stakeholders and we are
thankful to the government & police
for that.
However, there is a fear of being
tarred in the same brush and facing
sanctions / regulations that may
render the entire business unfeasible.
