Year-end parties make Salcete coast a plastic wasteland, beaches littered

Colva: Waves of plastic waste have littered Salcete beaches after the New Year celebrations ushered in 2024. The government’s efforts to discourage tourists from cooking on Salcete’s coastal roads seem to have worked during the December festivities last year.

However, the new problem is that tourists bring in food packets and dump the containers and packaging on the beaches. After the revelries were over, plastic bags and glasses, bottles, and snack wrappers were seen scattered along the beach stretch from Benaulim to Betalbatim, covering a span of about 8km.

Plastic constitutes a significant portion of the unmanageable waste, particularly along Benaulim, Colva, and Betalbatim stretch of beaches. The problem is linked to the large number of domestic tourists who flock to Goa to ring in the New Year.

Most tourists buy alcohol from wholesale stores, bring food, and head to the beaches for the year-end celebrations, a shack owner said. As midnight approaches, these budget tourists are often inebriated and dump garbage across beaches, unmindful of their irresponsible actions.

Another shack owner overseeing the cleanup in front of his establishment at Colva lamented how these tourists neglect the shacks and leave the beach in a sorry state. He said Goa has long suffered from plastic pollution, which is steadily eroding the state’s allure. However, he said, the tourism department is not reacting to the menace with the urgency it deserves.