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Wed, Mar 10 05:09 PM
The murder of a Goan taxi driver Rohidas Shetgaonkar, allegedly by Russian restaurateur Constantine Alexander Borowski, has led to a severe backlash against Russian tourists in the coastal state. Shetgaonkar was murdered last month in the Morjim area in northern Goa.

The state has already gained notoriety over the past few months for a spate of attacks on Russian women and girls, including the rape of a nine-year-old in January and the unsolved murder of teenager Elena Sukhonova, whose mangled body was found on the railway tracks near Thivim in May 2009.

The number of Russian tourists in Goa has seen a growth of 20 per cent per year in the last three years, surpassing that of Britons, who were the single-most important source of tourism revenue for the state. Matters came to a head in January when Russia’s consul-general in Mumbai, Alexander Mantytsky, hinted that his country was considering a travel advisory for Goa.

The locals allege that Russian tourists run illegal businesses and even create enclaves where Goans are forbidden entry. Linked to their concern are fears that a Russian mafia operates in the sunshine state and uses it as a money-laundering and drug-trafficking hub. Dr Oscar Rebello, a doctor who heads the NGO, Goa Bachao Andolan, says the reason for the resentment against the Russians is purely economic.

“Many Russians conduct illegal operations in Goa and the law-enforcement agencies do not take any action against them. A lot of Russians are involved in brawls and fistfights, but these incidents go unreported,” he said.

Father Maverick, who runs the Centre for Responsible Tourism, agreed. “It is not only because of the taxi driver’s murder that the locals are protesting,” the priest said. “Russian tourists have struck at their livelihoods and disturbed the peace in the area.” He said the Russians who came to the state on tourist visas ran shacks and taxi services in connivance with the local authorities. To make matters worse, the police refuse to react to the gravity of the situation. “Sometimes, the police even refuse to register our complaints. Instead, they advise us to reach ‘a compromise’,” Father Maverick said.

Local authorities perhaps are aware that Russians are among the biggest contributors to tourism. Nilesh Shah, the chairman of the Travel Agents Association of India’s Goa chapter, said about 30 per cent of foreign tourists to the state were Russians.

But the Russians have now become a problem for the state. Shah said the Russian tourists had upset Goans not only by operating all sorts of illegal businesses, but also by staying aloof and often ill- treating the locals. “The British tourists, on the other hand, mingle freely with the local residents,” Shah said.

Rebello believes the problem has to be solved tactfully. “Goa has been a tourist hotspot since the ’60s, and we have amalgamated very well with foreign tourists. We can’t turn xenophobic overnight,” he said.

But for now, Shetgaonkar’s murder appears to be yet another cloud on the reputation of the sunshine state.

Reproduced From Mail Today.

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