As Goa gears up to celebrate the popular festival of the carnival on Saturday, festival organisers on Friday said that 10,000 masks would be distributed free of cost to revellers attending the first float parade of the festival which kicks off in Panaji.
Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar also said that it was critical for Goa to organise the carnival event in order to keep abreast of tourism destinations like Kerala.
"Carnival is a state festival. It gives Goa a national and international profile as a tourism destination," Ajgaonkar told DH on Friday. The minister also said that the Covid-19 SOPs would be strictly implemented.
"If we shut down 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 also said, stating that he anticipated a high inflow of tourists claiming flight tickets to Goa had tripled their fares for the upcoming weekend.
The Goa Carnival held each year ahead of a 40-day Lent, a period of fasting for Catholics, is the former Portuguese colony's most famous legacy. The traditional carnival is unique to Goa as far as India is concerned, and was introduced by the Portuguese colonists who ruled over Goa for nearly four centuries as a pre-fasting festival.
The festival, held in February every year, involves a public celebration with float parades in most towns across the state with dressed-up street performers, musicians and entertainers, involving indulgence in food, drink and general merriment later in the evening.
This time, however, the festival's float parade will be limited to just two towns, Panaji and Margao, on account of the pandemic. "We decided to focus only on these two cities because of Covid-19. We hope people will understand the reason behind this decision," Ajgaonkar said.