Goa beach lifeguards abused by Indian tourists

Its a shame that Indian tourists do not pay heed to the advise offered free to them by custodians of safety who have been authorised for this service on Goan beaches by the government of Goa. Such a bad attitude is the major reason for casualties occurring on Goan beaches on a regular basis where news of drowning on Goan beaches has become very common.

Last Saturday, a rowdy pack of tourists hailing from Coimbatore, amongst three families were swimming during the high tide and were advised by the lifeguards against swimming in the creek running along Baga beach only to be responded with a rude assault.

The lifeguards who noticed strong currents put up the red flag demarcating the area as a no swimming area and requested the tourists to shift themselves to the safe swimming zone only to be abused and assaulted by the rowdy tourists who allegedly refused to pay heed to the request and the male members of the families instead sought to flex their muscles against the lifeguards.

The  intervention of the Calangute Police was finally sought when the tourists were eventually taken to the police station to be sternly warned over their unruly behaviour.

Such an attitude of tourists has become a regular feature in recent times thereby demoralising the lifeguards who are entrusted to do a life saving job. This has therefore prompted the government appointed beach management company to appoint bodyguards to watch the backs of the lifeguards to protect them from being hurt by unruly tourists.

The first batch of such bouncers are expected to be witnessed on the Baga-Calangute stretch where most of the tourist violations take place and the bouncers are expected to rein in any misbehaviour by rowdy elements among tourists.

For a safe holiday experience, tourists in Goa need to be more responsible and show respect for the law of the land.