the goan I network
MAPUSA
The growing scare over coronavirus has taken the sting out of Holi revelry, as Mapusa witnessed a muted response to the festival of colours on Tuesday. Several streets which otherwise teemed with enthusiastic revelers remained deserted this year.
The Rangotsav, an annual public event, held at the main taxi-stand square in Mapusa also saw thin attendance although the organizers had made all the arrangements with water sprinklers and DJ to get the crowd in the mood.
The organisers, however, refused to accept the drop in numbers and hoped that more people would join the revelry. “This is the fifth year we are organizing the event. Our previous experience shows people tend to come in late in the afternoon. We expect more revellers to join the celebrations later,” said Sadanand Diukar, one of the organisers of the event.
But a regular participant at the event admitted that the crowd was far less comparatively and blamed the deadly virus which claimed more than 3,000 lives globally, mostly in China.
Apart from few pockets that saw some youth engaged in the festivity, several road junctions in the city which usually witnessed riot of colours were completely deserted and the streets virtually empty.
In many areas. the celebrations had to be called off much before time due to poor attendance. “Overall, there is a dip in celebrations this year. There has been a guarded response to the festivity from the older generation but the youth have come out to involve in their share of fun,” said Sandeep Falari, former chairperson and councillor of Mapusa.
He said at many places people chose to have celebrations in their neighbourhood and that could be one of the reasons why not many participated in larger public gatherings. He said coronavirus could be the plausible reason for the muted response to the celebrations this year.
The Mapusa market also saw a drop in demand for regular colours, as customers asked for herbal and organic colours.
Groups clash in Colvale, 5 arrested
MAPUSA: Holi celebrations took a violent turn when two groups clashed with each other in Colvale on Tuesday. Five persons from one group have been arrested in this connection.
According to reports, the incident took place at Ganesh nagar, Colvale, when Mahesh Gaonkar and his friends were playing Holi. Arman Manikar was passing by when Mahesh and his friends put colour on him. Manikar objected and a fight broke out between both groups. Manikar then lodged a complaint at Mapusa police station and police registered a non-cognizable complaint.
Manikar later collected four friends, Mohammed Vali, Mohammed Ali, Vishal Jadhav, and Mehbood Shaikh, and went to Mahesh Gaonkar’s house at about 7.30 pm, where they allegedly assaulted Gaonkar and his wife, Mahima. The five accused also allegedly assaulted Sanjay Naik and his wife, Sanjana.
Mapusa police rushed to the site and took control of the situation Police later arrested Manikar, Vali, Ali, Jadhav and Shaikh in this connection. A huge police force led by PI Tushar Lotlikar is presently stationed at the site to prevent further tension in the area.
