Goa makes it mandatory for beach shacks to sell state’s staple ‘fish curry-rice’

Shacks on Goa’s beaches will now have to mandatorily serve “fish curry-rice”, a staple of the coastal state, along with other Indian and international cuisines, said tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Sunday.

The compulsory inclusion of the coconut-based preparation, savoured for its tangy and spicy taste, in the menu of the joints is part of the state’s new Shack Policy that aims to promote the Goan cuisine, the minister said. Up until now, shacks along the shoreline offered North Indian food but Goan dishes were not available at these places, he said. The government has now made it compulsory for shacks to ”display and serve” the Goan food, including ”fish curry-rice”, he said.

”We have to project our rich cuisine to tourists,” Khaunte said.

The tourism minister said that the Shack Policy, which was recently passed by the cabinet, also intends to address the challenge of illegal hawking and vending on the beaches.

He said that many women, who were involved in illegal hawking and vending on beaches, would pretend to be working at the shacks, when they were apprehended by tourism department officials.

“The new policy has mandated that each shack will have to submit the list of its staff to the department,” he said. Those indulging in illegalities on beaches will face action, he said.

Khaunte said the department is cooperating with shack operators in possible ways, but they should also ensure that tourism is not hampered due to their actions.

He said that the state is working with a vision of quality over quantity but that won’t happen overnight.

“We have to work on our basic infrastructure. Anything related to tourism, we have to ensure that Goa as a tourism state has to have all the infrastructure to support the tourism industry,” he said.

The minister said that hotels in Goa are recording an average of 80 per cent occupancy. “The hoteliers are happy over the occupancy. But you cannot take things for granted. If there is a drop in occupancy, the hotel owners will blame the government,” Khaunte said.

He said that the state has to step up efforts to promote tourism for which the department and other stakeholders will have to work together.