Goa's beaches should be restored to their past glory: Minister

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Friday said the beaches in the state should be restored to their past glory with the active participation of all stakeholders.

The minister said the coastal state needs to fight the challenges on its shoreline, including environmental degradation, and the tourism sector should not meet the same fate as the mining industry.

The state government and stakeholders should start thinking about how beaches should be, he said.

"The real challenge is to make the beaches how they were in the past. We need to restore their past glory," Khaunte said.

The state needs to also give a sense of security to tourists while creating the infrastructure required for the growth of the sector, he said.

"People from outside the state work as touts, pimps and open illegal massage parlors and misguide tourists," Khaunte said.

The minister further said that the traffic police are seen selectively issuing challans to tourists.

"We had a meeting with the DGP and other officials asking the police to stop harassing tourists," he said.

Speaking about basic amenities on beaches, Khaunte said that the tourism department plans to have two model beach stretches by September, where all amenities would be provided. An integrated plan, including cleaning of the stretches, surveillance, and other aspects, will be implemented, he said.