Will act against touts on beaches: SP Shobhit

Calangute: Following concerns raised by tourism stakeholders in the Calangute-Candolim tourism hub about nuisance caused by touts, beggars, hawkers as well as other illegal activities along the beaches, the tourist protection unit (TPU) also known as the tourist security force has decided to step up measures.

Talking to TOI during a recent visit to Candolim, superintendent of police (tourist) Shobhit Saksena, said, “Our focus is on ensuring action against illegalities at tourist places such as public drinking, touting and hawking. Over 2,000 instances have been booked this year. This will send a strong message for safe and responsible tourism,” he said.

Drones, body-worn cameras (BWC) and CCTVs are among some of the gear that TPU will deploy in the Calangute-Candolim beach-belt which gets swamped by a large numbers of tourists especially after Covid-induced pandemic restrictions were lifted, according to officials.

“With the growing influx of tourists after Covid there is also a growing requirement of tourist police. Over the years more and more staff is being inducted in the TPU. With the tourist information centre at Candolim, six more centres are being taken over by TPU as one-stop centres for tourist assistance. In the meantime staff from the police station and vehicles are also used as force multipliers. The available staff are deployed on major beaches of north Goa,” Saxena said in response to complaints by coastal panchayats that not enough police personnel are deployed.

“The TPU is also in the process of introducing a multi-lingual tourist helpline for attending to tourists in their own language,” he said.

Calangute-based PI Damodar Naik (TPU-North) said, “Due to the vast area of responsibility it becomes difficult to restrict hawkers doing illegal business on the beach. When these hawkers see the police approaching, they immediately hide in shops and rented houses which are just next to the beach areas. Also women hawkers cannot be arrested after the sunset.”


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