In a recent development one of the oldest associations of Goa Tourism Industry TTIG (Travel and Tourism Association of Goa) has blamed the media for blowing the issue of crocodile on the Morjim beach out of the proposition and also claimed that the entire episode could be the handiwork of the rival tourism destination. “A rival destination is attempting to create an issue with regards to the safety of Goa beaches. The national media seems to have blown the story out of proportion. They (media) ought to have heard the other side of the story before attempting to put fear in the tourists,” said Francisco Braganza, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG).
According to the news published by the national daily DNA on 17th July 2015 with the title “Fully-grown crocodile spotted, photos go viral” says that “The Goa forest department on Thursday confirmed the sighting of a fully grown crocodile at Morjim beach whose images have gone viral on social media”. According to the report the images have been uploaded by one of the resident of Morjim Nilesh Bagkar.
Second news published by the NDTV with title “How a Croc Likely Showed up on a Goa Beach” mentions that “On Thursday, the Forest Department in Goa, confirmed that a crocodile had indeed been spotted by a local resident on Morjim beach. Nilesh Bagkar was on his morning walk when he saw the crocodile walking towards the sea. His photographs quickly took over Facebook sites and Twitter with many asking if the photos were real. Understandable really, as crocodiles usually don’t walk the beaches of Goa. We are all grateful for this fact. As this beach is on the West coast of India, we can all also be glad of the fact that the crocodile was most probably a mugger, and not a salt water crocodile”.
The news blown up on the social media as the Morjim beach is one of the most famous beaches in Goa and majorly populated with Russian tourist. It was not the good news for the people related to the tourism industry in Goa keeping in mind that Goa is known for its beaches as major attraction for nearly three million tourist visiting Goa every year. Crocodiles are commonly found in Goa’s hinterlands in marshy rivers, but there have been rare instances of the aquatic reptiles being sighted on the state’s beaches.
Mr. Braganza said that the presence of crocodile on the Morjim beach was an “accidental” case as the crocodile must have lost its way and found itself on the beach. “Crocodiles live in marshy lands in the interiors. During monsoons, river water close to the sea loses salinity. It is possible the crocodile lost its way through the river and got closer to the beach,” Mr Braganza said.
There are two things here one is the spotting of a crocodile on Morjim, one of the most famous beaches in North Goa and second is the about the crocodile who seems to have lost its way and reached the beach. The media alone cannot be blamed for any such things as they do their job by enlightening the people about the presence of situation. it is surely the serious issue for the tourism industry of Goa and things need to be worked out by discussion and finding the solutions as there could be more cases of crocodile misleading its way and reaching to beaches. Under any circumstances the consequences could be serious. Please do not forget to leave your comments and suggestions on this issue at the end of this news article.
Source: AINS / NDTV
Image Credits: Nilesh Bagkar
