The murder of Irish girl in Canacona disturbed many Canconkars and the tourists staying here who blame the law and order of the state and the lack of security provided to tourists who are responsible for the increasing economy of the state.
Simon Rebello, ex-chairperson and a hotelier at Palolem beach complimented the police team headed by PI Filomeno Costa under the guidance of Dy SP Sammy Tavares for cracking the case within a few hours after the nude body was discovered at Devabagh fields on the way to Agonda here, he also said this will have a heavy impact on tourism at all Goa level, Rebello said already tourists, specially females, have started moving out of Canacona he lamented.
“Goa is a global tourism destination and if tourists are not taken care of or not given proper security, then tourism will come to an end,” stated Dattaprasad Prabhugaonkar, secretary of CCL committee of Loliem, Canacona. Gaonkar was visibly disturbed with the murder of the Irish girl at Palolem. “Why doesn’t the government put a bar on foreign tourists if they cannot provide security cover to them,” he asked. When Herald spoke to few more Canconkars on this issue, they all had different view points.
Kishore Paigankar a senior citizen and social worker from Poinginim condemned the incident and asked, “Who is responsible for all this? What will be the effect of this on Goan tourism? Will this get repeated in future? he said nobody has answers. He added, “Why will tourists come to Goa in future? Is it because of the pristine beaches and the nature? Is it because of narcotics? Is it for liquor? It’s a big question mark. After few days everybody will forget everything till something like this is repeated.
Amey Puranik, a structural engineer from Partagal, Cancona congratulated the police for doing an excellent job and said, “If the accused arrested is the actual murderer, then he should be dealt with in a very harsh manner so that such crimes are not repeated.”
Jack Fernandes, president of NGO Goenkar and proprietor of Kate’s cottages & restaurants at Ovrem, Palolem says, “Foreign tourists who come to India and specially to Goa should take care not to be friendly with locals and trust them blindly. They should also avoid going out alone at late hours”.
A businessman from Palolem, Gaspar Coutinho, said: “We have to take this case very seriously, cause if we fail to give safety to tourist, then tourism will be finished from Goa”.
“Night patrolling by police should be increased”, says Ajay Naik Gaonkar, a progressive farmer from Agonda . He even mentioned that there are many love spots in Canacona like Chapoli dam, interior roads of Agonda, hilly areas of Ponsulem and Mastimol where patrolling should be conducted during 1.30 to 3.00 pm and 5.00 to 8.00 pm. Since many couples visit these places often in secrecy, also girls should stop covering their faces as it becomes difficult for the police to identify suspects, stated Ajay.
There are a lot of opinions about this case but in reality it is the responsibility of every individual along with the state to safeguard oneself.
Also the government needs to provide security to foreigners or tourist if they want to sustain tourism in Goa. Also not forgetting that the accused of this case needs to be strictly punished in order to wipe out the fear in the minds of Goan tourist.
