Tourism authorities in Goa, one of the most popular beach destinations in the country, is looking to WhatsApp to solve its garbage woes.
A senior Tourism Department officials told The Pioneer that a new WhatsApp-based service is now being mulled by the tourism authorities in order to rid the State’s popular beaches of garbage and litter.
“The general public can inform via WhatsApp locations where waste is strewn or piled up and the designated contractor will take corrective measures within 24 hours and report to the department of Tourism on the same,” the official told The Pioneer, after a review meeting held on Tuesday, chaired by the state Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar which was attended by top tourism department officials.
Goa’s beaches attract more than four million tourists every year, including half a million foreign tourists, but over the last few years, tourism industry stakeholders have complained of litter on the state’s beaches, including popular sand stretches at Baga, Calangute, Anjuna, Vagator, Colva, Arambol, etc.
The State Tourism Ministry, a few years ago had appointed a garbage management agency a few years back, but complaints about garbage disposal have continued to linger.
The Hon’ble Minister for Tourism has expressed his keenness of ensuring that the beaches in Goa remain clean and locals Goenkars and tourists are not inconvenienced at any given point of time throughout the year.
“The Minister for Tourism has expressed his keenness of ensuring that the beaches in Goa remain clean and locals Goenkars (Goans) and tourists are not inconvenienced at any given point of time throughout the year,” the official said.
Ajgaonkar said that the new initiative will help make the clean-up of Goa’s beaches more efficient. “We want to present clean beaches for tourists coming to Goa. All it will take is a photo of the piled up garbage to a Whatsapp number we will release in the public domain soon,” Ajgaonkar said.