Covid-19: Now, locals turn against ‘outsiders’, second-homers

PANAJI: A handful of citizens have taken it upon themselves to play the role of self-proclaimed vigilantes, accosting “outsiders”, stopping vehicles and knocking at people’s doors late at night, all in the name of warding off Covid-19.
Several weeks since Goa lost its ‘Green Zone’ reputation, local hostility has surged alongside Goa’s Covid-19 count.A palpable fear that entrants will bring coronavirus into shops and villages has residents on edge, and the “locals” are now prepared to do something about it.
On July 1, at around 9:30pm, an angry group of men and women in Aldona showed up at Fatima Mascarenhas’ residence. They wanted to know who was living in the apartment and who owned the MH-registered vehicle in the parking lot.
“A friend from a neighbouring village, who has been living in Goa for five years and who hasn’t left the state in 10 months, was visiting us for dinner,” said Mascarenhas, who works with an NGO.
The angry locals did not introduce themselves, but did let on that one of them was an Aldona panchayat member. According to a statement to be submitted to Goa Police by Mascarenhas and her husband, the crowd threatened them and did not maintain adequate physical distance.
This incident, which ironically happened a day before Goa officially opened up the tourism sector, is not the only instance. When Anuradha Sharma, who works at a private firm in Porvorim, returned from Delhi, her landlady said that locals in Parra were not in favour of her return. “Two days before I was supposed to arrive, my landlady asked me to get a Covid-19 negative certificate. I had to beg and plead to get tested. It was a high-anxiety time for me,” said Sharma.
Despite getting tested, Sharma was shocked when her landlady requested her to stay indoors so that locals do not create trouble because of her return. “I felt very uncomfortable because I was told that I should not be seen out during the day. It was pretty difficult,” said Sharma.
Tourism is a mainstay of Goa’s economy, but the increasing hostility at those perceived as “bhaile” could dent Goa’s image as a peaceful destination. Political rhetoric in recent days has added to the problem. “Indian tourists are desperate to come here to Goa because Goa is much better than other states. If they come here, Goa will be in big trouble,” said NCP MLA Churchill Alemao on Friday.
A former private sector banker, who lived in Goa for over two years and who has a second home in Goa, was questioned at Morjim by locals who spotted his MH-registered car. “Their whole concept is that if it’s an MH-registered car, then it has brought Covid,” he said. “I told them that I have a home here and I live here, and thankfully, they did not press things further,” he said. He did not wish to be named for fear of reprisals.