North Indians making Goa another Haryana, says minister

Goa Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday said a majority of the domestic tourists visiting Goa are the "scum of the earth" and "north Indian tourists want to create a Haryana in Goa".

Addressing the Goa Biz Fest organised at a resort near Panaji, Sardesai said that "today, we have almost six times the population coming into Goa. Those tourists are not the top-end tourists, but scum of the earth."

The minister said "the heavy influx of north Indian tourists was making it difficult for the state to address the issue of garbage."

"Are they responsible? Are they conscious? They are not. If You compare Goans to the rest of India, we are very high in per capita income, social and political consciousness, health parameters, and many other parameters. So, we are much superior than people who are coming in. Those people - how will you control?" the Minister added.

Sardesai also questioned the state government's proposal to attract 1.25 crore tourists to Goa. Commenting on the constraints, Sardesai added that brief period of visa deters the government to educate them on keeping Goa clean.

Highlighting the rising problem of trash on the beach and in cities, Sardesai said that since tourist visits are very brief, there was no mechanism to control or educate them about keeping Goa clean.

"How are you going to control these people? The north Indian states are responsible for the problems that Goa has today. The people coming from those states actually want to recreate Haryana in Goa," he said.

"We will have to bring in laws which will tax you, fine you and compel you to follow the law," he said.
Sardesai also made scathing comments about tourists from north India, "who were trying to convert Goa into a Haryana".

"We are dependent on north Indians and this is what they do. They are not bothered about Goa. They will like to recreate a Haryana in Goa," Sardesai said.

Goa, a beach and nightlife tourism destination, attracts more than six million tourists every year as against its population of nearly 1.6 million.

OneIndia News