It is absolutely inappropriate to be solely blaming Goa’s Tourism Minister Babu Azgaonkar for the Tourism mess and the steep decline of Tourists in the State.
In 2012 the BJP led by Manohar Parrikar rode to Power with a thumping majority after promising a Parivartan by way of Good Governance and Zero Tolerance to Corruption. But while Manohar Parrikar over the years has remained only engrossed targeting and blackmailing his political opponents all the pressing issues concerning the State have remained sadly unattended to.
For the tourists whether entering Goa by Air, Rail or Road, the welcome at the Airport, Railway stations or Bus stands has been grubby with that first impression about Goa being very distasteful. Our once pristine beaches are today infested with dogs, cattle and heaps of litter all over. In the name of beach cleaning it is only the State coffers that have been over the years merrily emptied.
The traffic police instead of working towards good traffic management have been focusing on fleecing every tourist possible. The sight of tourists on two wheelers being skinned around the Divya Circle in Panaji is horrifying. I have on so many occasions personally spoken to the DGP Dr Muktesh Chander on this but for reasons best known to him he has been helpless.
How can we expect quality tourists to descend in a Goa which is today reduced to a drug, prostitution, gambling and crime hub?
Manohar Parrikar while in the Opposition had screamed over the roof top against Casinos and even led an agitation demanding their closure but after becoming Chief Minister has allowed the menace of Casinos to proliferate while brazenly enlarging them all possible government patronage.
So the buck stops at the door of the Chief Minister for all the serious problems the State is today facing. Now the only way forward to resolve the Tourism and other issues grappling Goa is to have a dynamic Chief Minister who with a vision and passion can pull Goa out of the woods. But this will not happen as long as the now physically incapacitated Manohar Parrikar adamantly continues to shamelessly and selfishly hang on to the Chief Minister’s Chair hoping that he will be assured of a ‘Statue’.
