Goa's ugly side The ugly side of Goa's tourism industry has been very sadly exposed by the investigations into the death of British teenager Scarlett Keeling. The 15-year-old's body was found 20 days ago and it was only on her mother's insistence that the case was re-investigated, a second post-mortem carried out and now three men detained on suspicion.
It is not just the fact of the death that is so sordid. The casual manner in which the local police treated the issue initially, declaring that it was a case of drowning, calls for condemnation. Had it not been for the media outcry and the mother's insistence, it would have been written down as one more unfortunate death of a tourist. For years, Goa has been known to be a hub for drug-related tourism. The film, Bangkok Hilton, exposed this over 20 years ago. Since the hippies discovered it in the 1960s, the idea of a free and easy life in Goa has been a huge attraction for the west. Add to that the general impression - erroneous as it has turned out - that the people of Goa either supported or accepted such behaviour. It was more a case of official apathy that allowed this culture to flourish; to the outsider, it looked like a state where people were laidback and thus more tolerant. More at: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1155461 ~(^^)~ Avelino
