Losing Goa: The nightclub fire illuminates what’s rotten in paradise

THE HORRIFIC FIRE in Goa’s nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, is a sign of how successive governments in Goa have let the place down. And in many ways, I’m delighted that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Director General of Police Alok Kumar are now stepping in to clean up the stables, as it were. For years, Goa’s neglect has been the result of a nexus between the sarpanch, the panchayat, and the local MLA, who have caused havoc by taking money under the table and vitiating the atmosphere of Goa.

And both Goans as well as outsiders are to blame. When people come to Goa, they stop respecting the culture of Goa. They have no desire to adhere to laws, there is a willingness to violate every behavioural norm. The brazenness

with which Goa has been mutilated is something that is no longer shocking. But when a fire such as this happens, people sit up and then begin to notice the rot that has set in.

The problem with Goa is that it is a city state.

The management of Goa has been left to the local panchayat, which is easy to manipulate, has its own machinations, and allows for wanton misbehaviour. In such a situation, how will Goa ever attract tourism of the highest order, as it should? Look at how Kerala has created the tourism benchmark for itself.

The problem with Goa is not that its people are bad. The locals are very fine people. They have a lot of respect for their culture, for their festivals, but that is overtaken by the desire to build illegally, by the desire to indulge in activities that hit at the heart of Goan culture, and, most importantly, there is a complete disregard for any civility.

People break the law because they believe they can. You then have political support, which across party lines is again vitiated.

People still admire and love Goa for what it is, for its beaches, for its forests, for the greenery, for its restaurants, but then again, today small villages with a radius of two to three kilometres have over 50 to 60 restaurants, most of which, to my mind, are nothing but shell companies designed to launder money.

I’m glad that after this fire, a little too late albeit, the chief minister has cracked the whip, as he should, because we cannot have a state like Goa, or for that matter any territory in India, where some citizens who believe they are above the law can get away with blue murder as the Luthra brothers did.

My suggestions:

• With immediate effect, Goa Police must be the nodal licensing authority for nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.

• There should be stronger zoning laws in Goa. Today, if you go around small villages, you will see ugly buildings which are in sharp contrast to the way Goan homes were and Goan homes should be.

• The government must enforce timelines more strictly: all wine stores in Goa are required to be shut by 10PM, but they are open almost all night. Nightclubs must be shut by 11:30PM as the law says.

• There must be demonstrable punishment for lawbreakers: in case there is a single violation,

fiscal penalty alone is not enough. It must come

with a prison term and a perpetual ban on that person being ever able to operate a hotel, or a restaurant, or a nightclub, or a bar. Unless we make these provisions, nothing is going change.