For years, they have brought groups of tourists into the 15th century Bom Jesus Basilica to show them the relics of St Francis Xavier. But from Tuesday, tourist guides have been banned from within the famous cathedral.
PANAJI: For years, they have brought groups of tourists into the 15th century Bom Jesus Basilica to show them the relics of St Francis Xavier. But from Tuesday, tourist guides have been banned from within the famous cathedral.
“This is something I have contemplated for a long time,” Father Savio Barreto, Rector of the Basilica, told DNA, “The guides shout. The faithful have approached me complaining the church was like a bazaar. Many have asked me, ‘Is this the house of God?’” With the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) agreeing to the Basilica’s move, the ban came into effect.
Father Baretto says on many occasions he has had to intervene when a fight broke out between the guides and devotees wanting silence to pray in the Basilica. There is also a conflict of interest between a tourist who comes to the Basilica as a pilgrim and a tourist. Yvonne Lobo, a tourist from England, says, “I was so put off by the noise. I am amazed how tourists let their camera flashlights go off as though we were on the beach.”
“I welcome the ban, the guides had become a real nuisance,” says Jaime Sequeira, a resident of Corlim who attends Sunday morning mass at the Basilica. Adds the Carabolim sarpanch Wilson Valladares, “These restrictions in the churches at old Goa were long overdue,” he said.
However, the guides, who earn about Rs50 to Rs100 per group, have not been put out of business. “They can do their work at the entrance to the Basilica, but inside we expect them to maintain the sanctity of the church,” said Father Barreto.
Santosh Naik, a guide, told DNA, “The ban is only fair. We have no right to disturb the pilgrims. We can do our tours from the outside.” Father Moren De Souza, Vice-rector of the Basilica, said that tourists could buy a guide book costing only Rs2 that he had written, explaining every feature of the Basilica.
The ASI, which took over the Basilica in 1964, was reportedly not always as co-operative with the church. Father De Souza recalls, “Ten years ago we put up a ‘silence’ board inside the Basilica and were asked to take it down by the ASI.”
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