Not Covid, Carnival masks to take centre stage in Goa

Panaji, Feb 12 : Masks — carnival masks and now Covid-19 masks — will take the centre stage at the annual Carnival parade in Panaji on Saturday, as the colourful festival gets underway amid the shadow of the pandemic.
According to Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar, the state government took the decision to organise the event, albeit at a low scale, in order to retain Goa’s prominence on the tourism map and to beat competing destinations sucj as Kerala from catching up.
The Carnival, a state festival, will be held in the state’s two major towns — Panaji and Margao — on two consecutive days. To negate the spread of the Covid-19 virus, 10,000 protective masks would be distributed at the festival parade, Ajgaonkar said.
“If we shut down the Carnival this year on account of Covid, we will regress as far as the tourism sector is concerned and we could lose to competing destinations like Kerala,” Ajgaonkar said.
The minister said that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government would be strictly implemented, as he urged the tourists and locals who plan to attend the Carnival parade to maintain social distancing besides following other norms.
Ajgaonkar also said that the price of flight tickets to Goa from popular source destinations like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi around the Carnival season has tripled, indicating the interest that tourists have for the major event, which is unique to Goa.