Panaji: Residents of Fontainhas and Sao Tome have raised concerns over increasing tourist influx in the heritage localities, saying it has led to parking problems, disturbance to residents and pressure on the area’s limited infrastructure.
Resident Vasco Dias said the locality is overburdened with activities without considering its carrying capacity. “There is a heavy tourist influx and many cafeterias and restaurants are coming up without checking the impact on the locality,” he said.
Dias said tourists and casino visitors often park vehicles haphazardly and there is little enforcement by traffic police. “People come from any direction and tourists even enter our houses, disturbing our privacy,” he said, adding that residents had written letters to the mayor and the local MLA highlighting these problems but no action has come forth.
Resident Jovito Lopes said the lanes in Fontainhas are narrow and experience heavy tourist movement as the area has been declared a heritage site. “Parking becomes a serious problem,” he said. Lopes added that residents had earlier requested the Corporation of the City of Panaji to deploy personnel to monitor the flow of tourists in the area.
He said that earlier only two wardens were present in the area occasionally and that additional wardens were deployed recently. Lopes said that about 12 wardens were deployed around 15 days ago.
Resident Devidas Amonkar said the narrow lanes and haphazard parking could create problems during emergencies. “There will be issues for fire or ambulance services to move in,” he said.
Luis Desouza said there are around 150 houses with about 200 to 300 residents in the area facing problems due to the rise in tourism and late-night operations of cafeterias and restaurants. “The concerns of senior citizens living here are not being considered,” he said.
He also referred to issues in nearby areas such as the St Inez creek and said the iron sheets placed at the Mala creek have not been removed. Residents also pointed to the lack of public facilities in the area. Dais said there are no public dustbins or public toilets in the locality.
