Goa economy hit by coronavirus scare, mining halt: GMPF

New Delhi, Mar 16 () With coronavirus fears impacting the Goa's tourism sector, umbrella body of mining dependents GMPF on Monday sought immediate resumption of mining activities in the state which is already reeling under a financial stress due to mining halt.

"The recent outburst of Covid-19 cases worldwide has further aggravated the dire economic condition which has resulted in sharp decline in tourist footfalls in the state of Goa thereby deepening the financial crisis in the state and thus aggravating further the miseries of Goans who were depending on tourism for sustenance of their basic needs," the the Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF) said in a statement.

With both the mining and tourism sectors witnessing a bleak future, full scale mining operations should immediately commence so that there is some relief to the economic vulnerability of Goa and Goan people.

The Goan mining dependent people specifically have been economically suffering and mining restart is required for them, it said.

"Goa has two major job providing sectors: one is mining which has been stopped from last two years resulting into three lakh livelihood losses in the state and another is tourism. With the Covid-19 outbreak across the world, tourism in Goa has also dropped to a great extent and the tourist footfalls are likely to dwindle down further to a trickle," GMPF President Puti Gaonkar said.

These issues cannot be neglected as it may cost peoples' future, he said.

"In the current scenario, resumption of mining activities is the only quantifiable solution which can save the economic condition of Goans along with the state. The mining dependents are in the serious financial crunch with no concrete solution for resumption of Goa Mining," he added. SID MKJ