Shifting sands and the shady shacks of Candolim beach

From times immemorial humans resides on Candolim beach in harmony. Vegetation grew and flourished on the beach. 

Candolim has been amongst prime spots from where local people offered hospitality to tourists from various parts of the world over the past five decades. Few beach shack were set up on beach to provide organised hospitality to visiting international tourists from Europe. 

In 1990s Goa Government tried to do away with beach shack to fuel profits into the pockets of hotels including luxury ones. Shack owners resisted. Around 1995 shackowners all over Goa including Candolim organised themselves into an Association. 

They used to start their operations from November onwards. Over the years somethings changed. Desire for profits intensified. Goalposts changed.  Goa Government permitted starting of Shacks from the beginning of September itself over the past few years. There is not much space for setting up of shacks on Candolim beach as water is yet to recede. 

Past few years JCB pokleins were deployed to excavate sand on the Candolim beach.  This year due to public pressure sand is being shifted manually. Vegetation of the coast is being butchered. Workers are deployed on the beach to excavate and shift sand on the beach to create stage to hoist beach shacks. The entire process is damaging the beach irreversibly. 

The people that lived on coast harmoniously with nature for times immortal have turned hostile towards the coast. Cutting down coast inwards to put up the shack to cater to tourism has created situation deeply disturbing. Number of beach shacks are sub-let by locals to unknown people to operate and do bussiness. Heaps of sands are seen on the beaches yesterday 21 September 2025 as seen in the above picture. Number of workers are seen digging the surface to collect sand and pack into bags, create heaps, create sandy stages, cutting coastal vegetation. Disaster unfolding. 

Today people of Candolim involved in beach shack bussiness has attacked the coast. It's matter of time that coast will attacked coastal people. Only regret will be that it will not separate between shackowner and fishers. Everyone will be made to pay the price. Do we really want to live life so self-destructive and risky? Candolim shackowners will be held accountable for all this.