Goa beach shacks to go

Panaji: All beach shacks in Goa would be erected by October 15 after the state tourism department demarcates spots to install these temporary structures this week, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The shack owners, who met State Tourism Director Amey Abhyankar, were assured by the department that the demarcation process which is only 75 per cent complete, would end by Thursday.

"It takes at least 15 days to erect a shack. We have to get the shack ready by October 15 or else our licence will get cancelled. The entire delay is because of the department's inability to demarcate places for installation of shacks," Cruz Cardoso, President, Shack Owners Welfare Society, Goa, said.

Cardozo along with other shack owners met Abhyankar, demanding that the process to demarcate the places should be expedited soon.

"We are losing business. There was an extended weekend this week wherein lakhs of visitors came to the seashore. But the shacks are yet to be installed," said Cardoso.

The state government, since last year, began issuing shack licences for three years, which have to be renewed every year.

Cardoso said the shack owners are ready to abide by all the norms put forth in the policy.

"Last year few shacks had not installed CCTV cameras but this season, all of them will have CCTV cameras as a part of the shack policy. The police can check the footage whenever they want," he said.

Shack owners have also agreed to segregate and keep the garbage at a proper place, which would be collected by state government appointed agencies periodically.