Goa minister warns of action after tourists seen riding scooters on beach

Goa Tourism Minister, Manohar Ajgaonkar has announced that tourists who are found riding their cars or two-wheelers on Goa’s beach will be punished and a case will also be filed against them. This action was taken after a video of tourists when viral on the internet in which they were riding on their scooters on the beach.

The video is uploaded on YouTube by Atul Fadte. In the video, we can see a couple of tourists driving scooters on the beach. The scooter is going through the sea waves also. It seems like the scooters are rented because they are carrying Goa number plates. It is not known on which beach the video is shot.

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Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “They should follow the law of the land. Again and again, we have requested tourists (against such misdemeanours). If they do not listen we will have to take strict action.” It is not known yet if action has been taken against the tourists riding the scooter.

What tourists were doing was very dangerous. Sand on the beach is very soft and the scooters are running on stock tyres. The tyres could have lost grip and the scooter could fall. We can see that the waves are coming towards the scooter. Some waves carry a lot of energy. When the waves hit the scooter, they can fall quite easily. This could have injured the tourists. Also, the other people on the beach could have got hurt.

Not the first tourists doing this

This is not the first time that tourists are caught driving through the waves. In September, a person drove a Hyundai i20 into the beach. The premium hatchback got stuck when the high tides came. The vehicle would have required some serious and expensive repairs after that. Hatchbacks are not meant to drive on such terrains so they will end up getting stuck. The i20 was also rented and was driven by a driver called Bishwad. The driver was arrested and was fined for negligent and rash driving because he was posing a threat to the people that were already on the beach. He was later released on a bail.

Water can damage the engine

Water can cause serious damage to the engine of two-wheelers as well as cars. The engine can stop working if water gets inside and then the owner would have to get the whole engine rebuilt which will cost a lot of money. Also, quite a few engine components will get replaced which will cost additional money. Then there is the cost of labour itself, rebuilding an engine takes a lot of man-hours and skill.

Even 4×4 vehicles can get stuck

People believe that 4×4 vehicles cannot get stuck but that is not the truth. There are a lot of videos floating on the internet where you would see 4×4 vehicles that got stuck in various situations. This often happens because drivers are not familiar with the terrain and they overestimate the capabilities of their vehicle. So, it is always advisable to bring a rescue vehicle and traction boards.

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