Goa's untidy and garbage-ridden beaches would soon be a thing of the past as the state tourism department has contracted the work of cleaning the sea shore which will begin from tomorrow.
A private agency has already been hired by the government which will clean the beach belt of around 60 kms, out of total 105 kms stretch, state tourism minister Dilip Parulekar said today.
"All the beaches visited by tourists would be cleaned," he said.
Initially, the cleaning would be done manually, and gradually after the rainy season, machines would be used to pick up the rag from the shoreline, he said.
"We will go ahead with the mechanised cleaning of the beaches only if NGOs which are working in the field of environment protection are satisfied," he said.
Some NGOs had earlier claimed that mechanised cleaning might result in destruction of flora and fauna in the beach belt.
The tourism ministry has formed two committees for each of the district which will certify that the beaches are clean, before the state government clears the bill of the agency contracted for the cleanliness work, Parulekar said.
The state government will keep a close watch on the cleanliness drive, as there have been several complaints from tourists about littering on the beaches, the minister said.
