Shacks ‘soft launch’ along Calangute, Candolim coastline

Calangute: The promised early commencement of the new beach shack season is turning out to be a false start with only a few beginning operations this weekend on the Calangute-Candolim beach belt which accommodates more than half of all shacks in the state.The tourism department had announced that all shack owners who had paid the licence renewal fee could start as the shacks season begins on Sep 1. However, with the monsoon still to withdraw, only around five have started, stakeholders said.“Some at Calangute and Baga have started putting up shacks and a couple of them who have set up the kitchen and storage area are catering to tourists by putting tables, chairs and deck beds,” a shack owner said.“At Baga, some have started building their shacks. In many places the shoreline is yet to recover (after the monsoon-induced sand erosion),” said general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society, John Lobo.President of the Traditional Shacks Owners Association, Manuel Cardozo, said that at Calangute too, a couple of shack owners have started business.Most of the shacks are likely to start in the second half of Oct despite the tourism department’s green signal to commence operations, stakeholders said.

Most shacks’ staff are from the states like Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. After the season in Goa, many go to Himachal and Ladakh for the summer season there from June-Sep, after which they return to Goa. This staff is required to build the shacks. “It’s a specialised job building a beach shack and only our regular craftsmen can do that. Those who have people from Karnataka working for them have already started building,” a stakeholder said.