How Goa’s holiday homes have weathered the pandemic

Heta Pandit has seen Goa’s character change drastically since she made it her home in 1995. “And lots and lots of people,” says the 66-year-old resident of north Goa’s Saligao who chairs the Goa Heritage Action Group, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the built and natural heritage of the country’s smallest state. “Goan village communities are shrinking into their shells; they are unable to cope with the onslaught.” The onslaught she’s referring to is the massive influx, over the years, of people with disposable income looking for a break from the city—a trend that has only picked up steam since Goa opened its borders post-lockdown and many more Indians from outside the state decided to shift base, temporarily or permanently, to work from a more scenic location. As Gracias puts it, “Many love the Goan landscape and its idyllic sensibilities, but because of rampant construction of real estate that nobody lives in, that Goa is in an endangered state of existence.” The real estate market in Goa functions like much of the rest of the state’s economy, effectively unregulated and filled with scams and illegalities, says writer-photographer Vivek Menezes, a resident of Miramar. “In this arena, Goa is suffering from an abysmal lack of governance and administrative incompetence.” The real estate boom is also threatening the nature of coastal towns and villages where these homes are built.