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GOA,sunDAY, jAnuArY 18, 2015
THE MORJIM GLASNOST HAS GONE LIKE THE ROUBLE
PHOTOS: VINCeNT bRAGANzA
Empty beach beds at morjim beach
IntO tHE russIAn
HEArt Of EmptInEss
A board displays the menu in russian language at a cafe in Ashvem
T
he land of Morjim and Mandrem dominated
by the presence of Russians and Israelis,
some of whom were found sun tanning on
the beaches, while others running businesses; are
today grappling with new realities at the northernmost tip of Goa. While the shocking decline in
tourists has largely impacted businesses, not only
run by the locals, but also by Russian entrepreneurs, the fact they are unable to attract Indian
customers has left them in lurch.
“There is an impression that we are not friendly
to Goans or Indians. This is a thing of the past. We
are quite friendly with every visitor and also try to
mingle with the locals,” said a Russian co-owner
of a beachside restaurant, who is married to a
Delhi resident.
Another Russian citizen, who is on a business visa
to Goa, echoed the same view claiming they are not
here to usurp businesses of locals, but to work in
tandem, to contribute to Goan economy as well.
This is just one facet of their life in Goa. On the
other hand, their businesses like local traders have
faced a major setback owing to a poor tourist season this year. Not only have their numbers reduced by 35% to their chagrin, but the
restaurants-hotels-café centres barely have a
handful of customers.
The scene at Morjim is no diﬀerent from what
it was, than in the recent past. Plenty of Russian
entrepreneurs have set up commercial establishments; however the streets and beaches are almost empty. The beach beds that were in more
demand than anything else among the sunbathing foreign nationals are lying vacant and forlorn.
According to some, the fall in Russian tourists,
who accounted for the highest arrivals in the last
two years, are unhappy with Goan hospitality.
Moreover, the Russian Information Centre (RIC)
head in Goa ekaterina belyakova opines that Goa
should look out for clients from other countries as
well, rather than depending on the existing ones.
She went on to suggest that overseas promotional events, where time and money is a waste,
should be replaced with technology to get in
touch with customers directly. “There is a need to
promote Goa as a destination in other countries,
not only in Russia, and not only at travel marts. We
need to send information about Goa, directly to
the customers and if they wish to come to Goa,
they will ﬁnd the way, how to get here. Without
cooperation from all business structures, the
completion of this mission is absolutely not possible” belyakova explained.
The fall of the exchange rate of the rouble
compared to the dollar, sudden inﬂation and high
visa fees have added to the decline of tourism, as
more charter operators are planning to stop operations to Goa. They have opted for alternate destinations now.
“There are a number of reasons for the reduction of Russian tourists in Goa. It was initially felt
that the only reason for this reduction was the
volatile status of the rouble. but I understand that
a large number of Russians are still travelling overseas for their holidays to egypt, Portugal and
Spain. Goa on the other hand has seen tens of
thousands of cancellations of Russian bookings,”
Average rates Dollar v/s rouble
Dec 2013 – Dec 2014
46.32
One dollar was 32.85 roubles in
DEcEmBEr 2013
One dollar was
roubles in
DEcEmBEr 2014
meanwhile, life in mini russia goes on
Amidst the gloom, there’s life too. for russians residing here, some things don’t
change, like their play school at morjim for instance. VIBHA VErmA goes to school
VIbHA VeRMA
W
hile the shacks, restaurant
and hotels are almost running empty, here’s another
side to the story where Russian kids
meet nature at a playschool in Morjim, an institution run by a Russian
couple for its citizens who come to
tour Goa.
Identiﬁed as ‘Sunﬂower’, about
15 children spend an entire day
while their parents are touring Goa.
Not only this, a few of them stay
back to take care of the little inmates, cook and serve them the
food, and enjoy every moment with
each other. “It is a mixture of play,
understanding spirit of collectivity
and developing emotional health.
As far as academic learning is concerned, they are taught alphabets
and vocabulary,” Leana, co-owner
of the institution told this reporter.
The institution, a house rented out
by a Goan family, was started about
three years ago to cater to Russians
citizens who are on a short term visit
to Goa. “Children don’t like repeating
their visit to certain places and in such
situation, parents leave them with us.
We have no teacher or cook, but we,
parents are the teachers and cooks.
We maintain the playschool on rotation,” she said. The playschool does
Kids at the play school in morjim.
not accept infants, unless he/she is
accompanied by at least one parent.
Since it is not a registered institution,
the children are not given any certiﬁcates. The Russian parents have urged
that if Goa government supports this
initiative, it could boost more arrivals
to the State while they would also assist the government in various forms.
Similarly, two crèches located
nearby the popular tourist area are
also run by Russian citizens.
Making their presence even more
evident, a pamphlet in Russian language known as ‘Shanti Times’ was
being published until the last season.
However, sources say, due to decline
in tourists this year, not a single issue
was published this season.
The monthly pamphlet consisted
of details about places to visit,
where to eat, stay and other details
about Goa. This season, due to lack
of funds, the supplement has not
been released. “It was a non priced
publication,” a source said.
the russian Glasnost in the Gorbachev era brought about
openness in the russian economy and society. the morjim
Glasnost signiﬁed how Goa opened its doors to the russians
allowing them to come in droves, replacing the DnA of foreign
tourists. While the relationship has been uneasy, it has been
useful. the summer of 2015 will be a watershed in Goa’s
tourism future with the russians not taking oﬀ, after their
currency, the rouble, crashed, taking away the bang from their
buck. VIBHA VErmA travels to what is called mini russiamorjim, to ﬁgure out how russian businesses and russians
residing there are grappling with this new change.
legal advisor to Russian Consulate Advocate
Vikram Varma added.
While commenting on the poor business
record this year, she said if tourists still don’t come
in, hotels and restaurants partly owned by Russian
citizens may have to close down their operations
by next month. Incidentally, some local hoteliers
(on Herald’s December 27, 2014 edition) had also
claimed they may have to shut down soon as
there were barely any bookings after January 10,
with many cancelling their trips to Goa.
Herald spoke to a couple of Russian tourists who
are uncertain whether they would return to Goa on
their next trip, owing to several negatives they have
endured here. Right from destroying the environment to unfriendly policemen, thefts, expensive
food and rents are some reasons cited by them.
“Goa is beautiful and so is its ambience. Hardly
anything is necessary to change in order to become more attractive. but please do not construct
high-rise buildings in Arambol. Maintain its natural
beauty for what people from all over the world
come here for -to breathe the air of freedom, joy
and happiness.” Alexander Redut told this reporter.
He also suggested that parties should not be
banned, while also adding that parties with drugs,
‘Goa should also explore
new markets’
if any, should be cracked down upon.
Another woman tourist Jenya Juravleva had a
bad experience when she was not allowed into
her hotel room, for the simple reason that some
of them were drunk. She exclaimed that the hotel
extorted money from them, to allow them into
the hotel, though the rooms were already booked
and payment made.
Filthy beaches, stray dogs, hawkers on the
beaches are other reasons why, Russian tourists
said, they may not visit Goa anymore. Personal
safety has also been a big question mark with
many of them not knowing to speak or understand english of Konkani.
Asked what was needed to rectify the present scenario, Vikram Varma, the counsel for the
Russian Consulate said “before we can do
things to rectify the situation, the cause of the
present crisis has to be understood in depth.
The power as well as responsibility to understand the present crisis and take corrective
steps vests with the Government and we would
be more than happy to assist as and when desired by the Goa Government.” belyakova fears
if the trend continues Russians may drop Goa as
the travel destination altogether.
‘Goa not a source or
transit point for drugs’
Herald: What do you think can be
Herald: Goa has a reputation
done to rectify the fall in Russian
tourists coming to Goa?
EB: One should not depend
only on Russian tourists.
Goa should also explore
new markets other than existing ones. Similarly, Goa’s
internal problems such as an
unfriendly police, garbage
mismanagement and improving services should be
solved. Also, there are a lot
of problems that we can’t
decide on until we sit together with tour operators,
hoteliers, restaurants, taxis
and government.
Herald: There have been various instances where Russians
have been victimized. The
latest example being the alleged molestation of your citizen by a stranger on the
beach and later by a senior
government doctor. Do you
believe such cases are aﬀecting the inﬂow of Russian
tourists to Goa?
EB: Yes. It is because people
bring such cases up on social
networks and media. This
brings negative publicity for
Goa and could result in cancel-
for being a drug destination.
What has the ANC done to
combat this menace?
KK: We have achieved remarkable results in the last 16
months where 54 drug-related
offences were registered. Last
year we arrested 32, 29 cases
were booked and a cocktail of
25 kg drugs were seized. The
total seizures are valued at several crores. My team is quite capable of combating the drug
menace and this is evident from
the figures.
Herald: What is the proﬁle of
the drug trade in Goa?
KK: Goa is a consumption point…
the more tourists come here, the
higher the market goes. As the
demand slows down, the market
shrinks. It is not a source point
or transit point like Mumbai and
Delhi. We are targeting the big
ﬁsh. Ninety ﬁve percent of our
catch is commercial cases (quantity) and among those arrested,
90 percent have been refused
bail several times by the court. In
Arambol, there were few number
of cases booked earlier, but
these has increased in the recent
past. We have caught two Rus-
quoteroom
My team is quite capable to combat the
drug menace and this is evident with
the figures. We have planned various
strategies to further crackdown on the
menace. We are in the right direction
to prevent soliciting of drugs here
—Kartik Kashyap, crime Branch sp
Solve internal problems in Goa such
as unfriendly police, garbage, reducing
sudden inflation, improving the
service and many others. But, there
?&A
EkatErina BElyakova,
russian information centre head
lation of their trips to Goa.
Herald: Also there are com-
plaints and cases with respective agencies about the
involvement of your citizens
in drug-related activities, illegal guiding, etc. What is your
take on this?
EB: There may be some
problems, but this is not a
question about a particular
nationality. 99% of those
arrested on drugs charges
are African nationals…
Legal excursions are run
but in the recent time, not
a single one has been
arranged, because of
money problems.
?&A
kartik kashyap,
sp, crime branch
sians and six Nigerians with hard
chemicals.
Herald: Has the ANC had any
success in combating drugs?
KK: Our seizures have increased and we have improved the quality of
investigation, which is certain
to convict the accused. We are
also training our investigating
officers to prepare watertight
cases with the help of good
public prosecutors and case
studies. We have learnt from
our past mistakes. As of now,
we do not have a single gram
of drugs in the godown. All
are disposed off after the
Court orders.
are a lot of problems that we can’t
decide, until we cooperate all together
either with tour operators, hoteliers,
restaurants, taxis and government
—Ekaterina Belyakova, russian Information
centre (rIc) head in Goa
holidays to Egypt, Portugal and Spain.
Goa on the other hand has seen tens of
thousands of cancellations of Russian
bookings
—Vikram Varma, Legal advisor to russian
consulate Advocate
There are a number of reasons for the
reduction of Russian tourists in Goa. It
was initially felt that the only reason
for this reduction was the volatile
status of the rubble. But I understand
that a large number of Russians are
still travelling overseas for their
Goa is beautiful and so is its
atmosphere. Hardly anything is
necessary to change in order to
become more attractive. But please do
not construct high-rise buildings in
Arambol
—Alexander redut, tourist