Unregulated tourism pushing Gokarna to the edge

Cattle graze through garbage on a beach in Gokarna. Credit: Special Arrangement

Unregulated tourism has turned Gokarna, known for its pristine beaches, into a garbage and sewage dump yard with medical reports declaring water from local sources unfit for consumption.

Documents and GPS-tagged photographs submitted by conservationists show blatant violations in managing the garbage and sewage generated in residential houses as well as the homestays that have mushroomed in the ‘village’ over the last 10 years. Activists have written to the National Green Tribunal seeking an urgent intervention to avoid a crisis.

Gokarna is administered by a gram panchayat despite having a population of about 30,000 and an average floating population of 5,000 to 10,000. Tourist footfall goes further up in December and January, with no system in place to bear the pressure.

Khushi Parisara, a local organisation which has organised events to clean up beaches, has documented blatant violations of Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Management of Solid Waste) Model Bye-laws, which came into force in 2020, along with violation of laws for the protection of the environment and coastal zone.

Manjunath Vittal Jannu, president of Gokarna Gram Panchayat, said the government has failed to regulate the violations while sitting on a proposal to provide a drainage network to Gokarna.

“We have tried to stop the illegal constructions. However, things have gone beyond our control. A Rs 12-crore proposal to build a drain network for Gokarna was sent in 2012. In the absence of such a network, water in our wells has become unfit for consumption. We have lab reports to prove that. This is the price we are paying despite our best efforts to control the menace,” he said.

The Gram Panchayat, he said, has built a facility spread across 1 acre to process garbage but acknowledged the problem with sewage management. “We will soon have a full-fledged system to manage solid waste. But sewage is a challenge. Homestays and large buildings built for tourists are letting out sewage directly into the nalas. The wells inside Gokarna as well as on the outskirts have been highly polluted,” he said.

A taluk-level official said the scale of tourism handled by Gokarna was way beyond its carrying capacity.

“The gram panchayat doesn’t have the necessary system in place. People from deprived communities sort wet waste and clean sewage without any protective gear. An awareness programme was conducted by the taluk health officer. Nothing has changed,” the official said.

Despite the large-scale violations, higher officials are still in denial mode, a local activist said. “Just 10-15 years ago, this was a pristine place. Some parts of Gokarna have turned into landfills,” he said.

Rajani Santosh, a Bengaluru-based activist, said a thorough assessment must be made to understand the infrastructure needs.

“The government needs to put in place comprehensive measures that address the concerns of the people,” she added.