Some tourism structures close to the turtle nesting site on the northern side of Agonda beach.
CANACONA
Confusion and anxiety prevailed in Agonda on Wednesday shortly after the high court ordered the deputy collector to halt within 24 hours the operations of those 67 establishments at the beach which are operating around the protected turtle nesting site.
Following news of the high court ordering a halt of 67 structures, many concerned business operators were planning to convene a meeting with all stakeholders, as they anticipated swift action by authorities.
However, no official visited the coastal village till late Wednesday evening, and the business operators are now anxious about officials sealing of their structures on Thursday morning.
Stating that the panchayat is unaware of the matter and had not officially received any intimation, Agonda Sarpanch Nilesh Pagui said he had come to know about the high court order through social media.
“I will let you know about the official stand of the panchayat only after consulting our advocate,” Pagui said.
When contacted Canacona Deputy Collector Madhu Narvekar informed that though the high court order has been received, action on the 67 tourism establishments will be taken once the list of the 67 structures is received.
According to sources, officials are expected to act on the orders of the High Court on Thursday.
CONFUSION OVER STRUCTURES
On learning about the high court order, a number of tourism stakeholders were confused and uncertain about the status of their establishments.
Initially, it was believed that the high court order would affect 67 tourism establishments along the entire coastline since the entire beach is a protected turtle nesting site and is under maintenance and conservation of Marine Species Conservation of South Goa Marine Zone of the forest department.
However, sources suggested that the 67 establishments could be on the southern-side of the beach, where 17 tourism structures were recently either dismantled or sealed by authorities on a high court order.
Sources further informed that 67 of the establishments mostly operated for tourism purposes on the southern end of the beach have received GCZMA notices for CRZ violations and GCZMA officials were in the process of conducting inspections in the village.
Interestingly, Agonda’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centres (TRC) which operates a nesting site is located on the northern side of the beach, which is over half a kilometre from the southern side of Agonda beach, where 67 businesses are likely to be halted.
