Goa govt spent Rs 15 cr on tourists' safety

Goa government has spent Rs 15 crore in last one year for the safety of the tourists visiting the most frequented beaches of the coastal state, the State Assembly was told today.

"Two beach stretches — Baga to Sinquerim and Velsao to Benaulim are handed over to private parties for beach safety purpose," State tourism minister Fransisco Pacheco said.

The state tourism ministry said that Rs 7.23 crore has been the capital investment in the project while recurring expenditure comes to Rs 8.07 crore.

"The scope is to minimise the possibilities of an accidental death resulting from drowning in the coastal belts of Goa through a developed mechanism with focus on prevention, rescue, resuscitation and prompt medical attention," Pacheco said in a written reply tabled on the floor of the house.

 

The minister said that Mumbai-based M/s Drishti special response services private limited has been given a contract of five years for both the beach stretches.

He said that since June 16, 2008 when the beach safety scheme was launched, 141 lives were saved on these crucial shores, till date.

In addition to the private lifeguards posted by Drishti, the department has also deployed lifeguards at important beaches during peak hours of the day.

Pacheco said that government has deployed tourist police and lifeguards on the beaches mostly frequented by tourists as a measure of security and safety to the visiting tourists.

Goa is visited by around 24 lakh tourists annually, of which 4 lakh are foreign guests mostly from the European countries.      For year 2008, 3.5 lakh foreigners and 20 lakh domestic tourists had visited the state famous for its beaches.

Figures tabled on the floor of the house indicate that the for the year 2007, 3.8 lakh foreigners and 22 lakh domestic guests came to Goa.