It’s the peak of the tourist season, and it is piles of garbage that welcome visitors at Velsao beach with Tourism Department as well as the other authorities failing to clean the beach. This has irked Velsao villagers who have also demanded immediate attention from authorities to end the garbage menace at the beach, failing which they would be compelled to protest.
“On the one hand we are trying to project Goa as a world class tourism destination and on the other hand piles of garbage welcome visitors to the beach. I feel that Tourism Department has been neglecting cleanliness at Velsao beach. Garbage collection at the beach has completely stopped,” Velsao resident Anthony De Mello said.
According to the locals, though the beach is considered as among the most beautiful in South Goa, as the silver stretch of sand is surrounded by palm groves, there are no facilities made available by Tourism Department so that more tourists visit it. They said that for the last few weeks the beach has been facing complete neglect as not only has garbage collection stopped but even plugging water leakage from a public tap located on the beach has remained unattended, leading to wastage of water.
Villagers slammed Tourism Department for not fulfilling their demand of constructing tourist infrastructure facilities at the beach and said that the garbage menace has led to fewer visitors to the beach. “Our inquiries with the cleaning staff revealed that they have stopped collecting garbage because the contactor appointed by the government for garbage collection has failed to pay two months salaries to the workers. If this continues then very soon our beautiful beach will look like a garbage dumping yard,” said a villager.
Villagers are also irked by the manner in which Tourism Department has failed to provide infrastructure facilities at the beach and have demanded immediate attention from the concerned authorities to take steps in removing the garbage failing which they threatened to launch a protest against the lethargy of State administration.
When contacted Sarpanch Henrique D’Mello confirmed that garbage collection from the beach has stopped. He, however, assured that he would take up the issue with the concerned officials and try to resolve the same on priority.
