CALANGUTE: With no police to keep a strict vigil on the activities at Baga Beach, tourists found themselves at the receiving end, as they were allegedly assaulted by watersports operators for objecting to the breaching of zones demarcated for watersports.
According to locals, “When the boats and jet-skis go, they churn the water which splashes on the tourists. When they complain, the watersports operators say ‘Do what you want’. If they argue, they get beaten up.”
The locals said there are no police on the beach to aid tourists when the assault incidents take place. Many children are also lost in the crowds of tourists who throng the beach.
Even though there are demarcated zones for watersports and swimming, watersports operators often breach the zones. There have been many incidents in which tourists have been injured after watersports boats hit them. A large number of these incidents go unreported, locals said.
Recently, an agency reported some incidents of tourists being injured after colliding with boats, and children going missing and being traced by lifesavers and reunited with their parents.
The State government had formed the tourist security force to patrol the beaches, but they are nowhere to be seen when tourists want to make a complaint, the locals said. The police assistance booths are located away from the beach at Calangute promenade and Baga.
