Excellent piece. Thank you and congratulations for a critical assessment. W R Da Silva
On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 11:47 AM Pamela D'Mello <[email protected]> wrote: > > - > > [image: Goa Journal] > <https://goajournal.in/> > > > OPINION <https://goajournal.in/category/politics/opinion/> > Of Nightclubs, Goa Tourism & Fire Risk > [image: Of Nightclubs, Goa Tourism & Fire Risk] > <https://goajournal.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IMG-20251211-WA0007.jpg> > > December 11, 2025 > > By Pamela D’Mello > > From a longer video > <https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/my-head-was-shaking-i-just-ran-dancer-recalls-chilling-escape-from-goa-club-fire-2832110-2025-12-07> > of the Arpora Night Club Fire on the night of December 6-7 and the Goa > Chief Minister’s statement > <https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/goa-nightclub-fire-caused-by-internal-fireworks-limited-exits-led-to-casualties-4-arrested-cm-pramod-sawant-2832134-2025-12-07>, > it’s clear a stray spark from pyrotechnics during a belly dancing routine, > seems to have caught the low, flammable roof. Built of eco-friendly palm, > cane and wood, on a water body, the place went ablaze in minutes; panic, > smoke and limited exits, fatally trapping unaware staff in a basement > kitchen and some tourist guests. > > Collective grief at the loss of lives will seek accountability, > compensation, blame. The television media frenzy, bolstered by social media > keep the pressure on, from every angle; not always fair. > > But let’s pause a minute and consider deeper systemic issues. > > From 2012, a BJP government, for reasons best known to itself, reset Goa’s > seasonal (October-May) foreign international tourism orientation, towards a > domestic 365-day product, taking promotional road shows into small town > India, ostensibly to garner new markets. Additional infrastructure, > bridges, night clubs, increased hotels and flight connectivity, electronic > music festivals followed this diversification. > > When this marketing pitch succeeded beyond expectation > <https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/goa-the-365-day-tourist-destination/194610/>, > the post-liberalisation, cash-rich domestic tourism segment it brought in, > filled the casino ships, buoyed nightlife tourism and mega festivals ; but > crashed the remainder of the foreign market (seeking rustic, relaxed beach > holidays) and trashed the North Goa product (until then with local > providers), significantly. One can speculate why this tact was pursued, but > it changed the nature of life for local citizens in the tourism belt. > > Weekend drive-ins clog North Goa roads, driving under the influence, > traffic fatalities registered an uptick; while littering and beach > behaviour patterns make the foreign and domestic tourism markets > incompatible. A consequent drop in the destination’s international > footprint, eroded its premium tag. Simultaneously, an emphasis on growing > domestic numbers also included segments of budget male-getaway tourism, > seeking a seedier experience. > > Politically connected persons made fortunes from increased licensing to > roadside > and beachhead retail liquor outlets > <https://goajournal.in/alcohol-bottle-waste-a-transparent-problem-on-goas-beaches/>, > that encouraged alcohol consumption in public places, until citizen and > stakeholder outrage forced some checks. > > While Goa may have notched an economic success story under the regime; its > cultural life received a setback along the northern coastal belts. > Beleaguered and besieged fishing communities-turned shack owners and > tourism establishments — receiving little policing help from government > (and questionable treatment) to manage touts, beach salespersons and public > consumption of alcohol — were driven to a stage where they had to prohibit > their own families from the beach. Local entrepreneurs continued their > businesses in the inundated, overwhelmed beach villages, but shifted family > homes to more family-friendly areas when possible. > > Meanwhile, increased tourism-driven real estate market spawned holiday > second home spaces. These, in turn opened up Airbnb rentals; a resultant > product overcapacity (from room rentals, restaurants, spas, casinos to > nightclubs), besides overall competition in a domestic buyer’s market. All > of this, playing out in a climate where Goa’s new political class — the > former agricultural tenant-owner turned real estate entrepreneur, is > jockeying for market space and influence, with competing Indian big-city > investors — each leveraging their own bureaucratic, political and > influencer/media cards to outplay the other. > > This seems to be the case in the Arpora fire property. Multiple > complaints, civil suits between former and current owners, questionable > constructions in an area where the outline development plan (ODPs) have > been legally questioned by NGOs, citizens and the courts. > <https://epaper.navhindtimes.in/PageImages/pdf/2025/06/24/2406025-md-ga-02.pdf> > > Post the fire, the state government has tightened controls over tourism > establishments, but responsible tourism requires more. > > When sections of tourists see the state as a place to indulge in reckless > behaviour — how long before something crashes from time to time, singeing > both themselves and the hapless workers and people around? > > For some holidayers, Goa evokes that sense of binge fun. > > This hit home personally at a family celebration dinner at a restaurant in > coastal North Goa, a couple years ago. Once a charming restaurant catering > to the chartered tourist crowd, it had become unrecognizable. Post nine pm, > a makeshift stage lit up with strobes and dancers. Soon, the young tourist > crowd got wilder; clambering onto the wooden tables and chairs; whooping to > the music and giving ‘over-the-top’ vibes. There might not have been > electronic fireworks. Yet, one eye marking out the exits, in case things > got too rowdy, we wound up and left. > > Inexperienced service providers, competing in a crowded marketplace, to > provide nightclub experiences to clearly uninitiated tourists seeking a > wild time, are skating on thin ice; reflected in the frequent fisticuffs > that break out between overenthusiastic, oftentimes inebriated tourists and > the establishment’s bouncers. When pyrotechnics are set off indoors to > notch up the glam, it is only luck that prevents disaster. Eco-friendly > decor, like Birch’s, is fine and perfect for sedate dining venues. When > they double up as nightclubs post dusk, as some places do, and include > fireworks in the entertainment mix; the risk increases. Howsoever equipped > an establishment is with fire safety equipment; the response window may be > extremely small and the price of meeting the domestic tourism segment’s > demands for showy glitz, proves fatal. > > Tough questions and accountability can and should be asked of owners and > authorities. But bad tourist behaviour must be discouraged. The notion that > Goa can be that place in India where anything goes, has to undergo an > urgent reset. > > While on the subject of fireworks, it might not hurt to remember that > nightclubs are not the only ones playing with fire. So are our religious > and other festivals, for one. > > Consider what having excessive spending power (and arrogance) is doing to > our beloved religious festivals. The music has gotten ear-splittingly > louder (trance at high decibels may not be your neighbour’s cup of tea), > and all the gods will not be able to avert tragedies, if firecrackers are > flung irresponsibly (as they are) in narrow lanes, near flammable motor > vehicles, residential homes and overhead electric wires. Anyone living > close to a pond, would watch in growing alarm as each procession winds down > the road; reminiscing for a time not long ago, when the celebrations were > melodious, meaningful and magical. > > Fire accidents sparked by fireworks in other parts of the country are > woefully regular: an urbanizing Goa is sadly, joining that mainstream. > > Surely, as a civilization, we should be willing to police ourselves. If > policing — rather than common sense, decency, decorum, respect and > self-restraint — is expected to be the only deterrent, then the question is > how much and how effective, can it ever possibly be? > > It may be easier for current politics to throw money at community festival > organizers to win popularity, votes and elections, than it is to govern or > recreate the national character we were once proud of. One can be certain > though, that it is not doing our civilization any favours. 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