To prevent tourists driving in Goa from being harassed by traffic cops, documents of vehicles not registered in Goa will be checked at the state’s borders and provided with a sticker to be stuck on the screen, which will indicate that all vehicle documents are in order, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Wednesday.
Talking to media in Panaji, Aigaonkar said “Tourists are being harassed by traffic policemen, who randomly stop them and impose fines. Tourists should not be harassed. Those who are wearing helmets on two-wheelers should not be stopped.”
“If someone is drunk, or has violated rules, the police can act against them. But tourists cannot just be randomly stopped and harassed. From now on, documents of cars not registered in Goa will be checked at border entry points and given a sticker to be stuck on the screen,” the Tourism Minister added.
The sticker, Ajgaonkar said, will be an indication to the traffic police that all documents of the vehicle are in order and should not be checked at entry. So the tourists need not be stopped by local traffic police for document verification.
On a number of occasions, the issue of harassment of tourists has been discussed in the state assembly in the recent years.
In 2019, Goa has attracted more than 70 lakhs tourists last year.
