Shack owners want licence fee waiver in view of bleak season

Calangute: Beach shack owners in the Calangute-Candolim beach-belt have urged the state government to waive the shack licence and other fees for the coming 2020-21 tourist season.
The process of renewing shack licences normally begins in early September when shack owners are sent messages asking them to pay the licence fee.
“The last season lasted for only three-and-a-half months.Though the shack licences were renewed by the end of September, we were able to start only in mid-November because of a court case and then we had to shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a complete loss season for us and many have not recovered the cost of putting up the shacks,” general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) John Lobo told TOI.
The Calangute-Candolim belt has around 176 shacks, more than half of all the shacks in the state.
SOWS recently submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, tourism minister and the tourism department with their grievances, asking for the waiver, but are yet to receive a reply.
“They said they’ll think about it,” Lobo said.
According to shack owners, the last season saw fewer foreign tourists due to the closure of Thomas Cook. This year also there will be less business because foreigners are unlikely to come in the midst of the pandemic and with travel restrictions in place, even though the state government has announced the reopening of the tourism industry, they said. Stakeholders said domestic tourists have started trickling in, most driving down in their own vehicles.
“We don’t know when and if beach shacks will be allowed. We’ve been told that they may allow us from January, but opening so late makes no sense because our staff are all from other states and they will not come down only for three months. If we ask them to come they will ask for six months’ salary,” Lobo said.
He said that it also depends on the pandemic situation. “They are now saying that a vaccine may be available by the end of this year. If the situation does not improve, then there may be no beach shacks this year. In that case, we should get a fee waiver for the 2021-22 season,” Lobo said.