Agonda: Home to turtles & a concrete catastrophe (original) (raw)

Agonda: The silver-grained beaches sandwiched between rocky outcrops and set against a luxuriant green backdrop of hill ranges in Canacona charm tourists from all over the world, but Agonda is another stretch being slowly ruined by a spate of CRZ violations and overkill.
Tourism started as a trickle in 1998. A few families near the beach on the extreme southern-end extended their houses to have a couple of rooms each for tourists.

The boom started sweeping the beach village in 2000. More rooms were built in houses within the 0-200m zone. A few huts sprouted in the eco-fragile zone in gross violation of the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification 1991.
A five-star hotel project close to the beach and the hillside in the 1980s was opposed by locals, but by 2002, the flurry of activity cluttered the entire 250-m beach stretch, south of the Agonda church. The vacant site of the stalled five-star project, the open space of church property and a narrow access to the beach between the maze of huts and shacks, appear to be the only open spaces on the southern side.

Post-2002, the chaos spread its tentacles to the other, longer end of the northern side beyond the church. Needless to say, a section of the villagers were saddened by the concretization of the beach.
“Slowly, the festering growth started on the northern side and during the last five to six years, the boom reached its crescendo,” a villager said.
As compared to Galgibaga, turtle conservation took its time here and started in 2002. Then fisheries minister Sanjay Bandekar encouraged it, though locals point out his decision followed a tiff between two parties over sharing beach space. He also laid down the space for turtle conservation. “Heavy poaching of eggs was rampant earlier and initially protection of Olive Ridley turtle nests helped curb the menace,” Remy Borges, a villager, said.

The number of shacks and beach beds also started increasing despite Agonda being designated as a turtle nesting site. As the activity has spun out of control, a few sensitive villagers are aware of the ruinous fall-outs of unregulated tourism.
“We have been telling some locals that shacks cannot be set up indiscriminately. We need business but we cannot destroy the environment. In Galgibaga, the entire beach is reserved for turtle nesting but in Agonda there are no lines drawn and the beach becomes a mess with tables set up during the tourist season,” Borges lamented.
The confirmation of illegalities has also emerged from experts. Shacks have been erected on the frontal dune belt designated as CRZ-I. “All shacks are built within the mandatory no development zone (0-200 m from the high tide line),” Antonio Mascarenhas, an expert member of Goa coastal zone management authority noted at its 119th meeting.
The erection of what should have been temporary structures has ruined the low to medium sand dunes, except in the southern end.
“The dunes are severely degraded at most places, vegetation is uprooted due to heavy human activity; the identity of the beach-dune system is under attack,” Mascarenhas, a former national institute of oceanography (NIO) scientist observed at the meeting.
His other observations recorded in the minutes indicate the blatant nature of violations. The structures referred to as shacks are built of wood and appear permanent in nature, in gross violation of guidelines in the Beach Shack Policy 2013-2016.
“Almost all structures have stone/concrete sea walls, or have placed sand bags along the HTL. They also have a concrete/cement floor, attached kitchen and bathrooms, and (presumably) septic tanks and soak pits,” he noted.
GCZMA officials could not penetrate the solid barrier in the front row and had to desist from inspecting structures beyond. The structures are tightly covered in yards of plastic and cloth or a barrier of coconut leaves till September.
“The entire sea-front activity on coastal sand dunes is an obvious violation of CRZ 2011 guidelines,” Mascarenhas said.
Complaints to authorities have only a minimal impact. After inspections, matters are rectified, but it is business as usual in just a few days.
Garbage from restaurants and other establishments is dumped recklessly in the rivulet near the church. The waste floats at high tide and enters the sea. Water is heavily-polluted in stagnated stretches of the water way.
“On one side, we want tourism and benefit from it, but on the other hand, we cause irreversible damage. Some guidelines are needed and have to be followed strictly. If we continue in this fashion, tourism will have to shut down like mining,” Borges said.
Send your suggestions & feedback to toi.goa@timesgroup.com