Colva: With the onset of monsoon, the beaches in Goa have been closed for any kind of activities, but tourists still flock here, though in a lesser numbers.
The beach shacks are dismantled from the last week of May month onwards, while Water Sports activity has also been closed by the State Tourism Department.
The tourists, however, have continued visiting the beaches, though in a lesser number.
“Hardly 20 percent of tourists arrive here during monsoons. There is no activity happening here. The warnings are also issued against venturing in the sea for swimming due to high waves,” said Abdul Shaikh, a tourist taxi operator from Colva Beach in South Goa.
He said that the tourist season has almost closed down with no business for the taxi operators.
At Colva Beach, tourists were seen enjoying the rains, while the private lifeguard agency employed by the state government, has kept its manpower to the fullest to ensure that there are no incidents of death due to drowning.
Kanwaljeet Singh, a tourist from Ambala (Haryana) who is in Goa with his friends – Tejinder Singh and Surinder Singh – say that this is the best time to come to Goa.
“There is no pollution, no noise, the beaches are empty and one can sit here peacefully,” said Kanwaljeet, who has arrived in Goa on Tuesday.
He along with his friends feel like continuing on the beach till evening.
Another tourist from Kerala, Janardhan KC, a bank employee, feels that the people should come to Goa during monsoon. Janardhan has been in Goa with his friends.
“We got the hotel rooms very easily. This is a good place to visit during the monsoons,” he said.
A corporate professional from Mumbai, Shrikant Basirkar, said that he was shocked to see “absolutely no activities happening on the beaches.”
“The beaches should not be completely closed during the rains. In some foreign countries, there are activities on beaches even during rains. I was shocked to see that there is absolutely nothing is happening, though the environment is very peaceful on the beaches,” he said.
