It appears that the Green Zone tag of Goa during the coronavirus pandemic attracted a lot of tourist interest as over 50 per cent of the railways bookings to Goa were from Non-Goans.
This was revealed to the media by the Chief Minister of Goa, facing criticism from all quarters over eight new COVID-19 cases in the State, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday (14th May 2020) said he would write to the Centre asking that the Railways skip Goa as a halt for the special trains announced recently.
The Chief Minister, addressing a video conference, said that 50 per cent of the travellers on the train are non-Goans. “Around 720 persons have booked tickets for the Delhi-Goa train on May 15 and I am told 50 per cent of bookings are of non-Goans,” he said.
“There are no hotels open in Goa and as such I will tell the Railway Ministry to skip Goa stations if possible,” he stated.
Besides this, he said that direct flights may also begin to Goa soon to bring stranded Goans. “8,218 stranded persons have registered to return to Goa and the flights may resume in some days. However, all precautions will be taken by the government on testing and isolation,” he assured.