Pune family spends almost a month in a Goan resort due to lockdown

Rebecca Samervel | TNN | Apr 13, 2020, 21:41 IST

MUMBAI: An almost month long “holiday” at a Goan beach resort may seem like a dream come true for many, but for a family of three from Pune, the unusually long extension of their five day break thanks to the national lockdown has been a roller coaster. Two failed attempts to cross the state borders to get home and initial attempts by the resort to evict them by turning off the hot water supply and refusing to serve breakfast, have dotted their lockdown time.
Dentist, Dr Emma Johnson (36) said that with things finally falling into place, her family and others tourists stranded at the resort have resumed their routine life which involves community cooking for 17 people, playing board games and working out together on the vast property. “The beauty is that we are by the beach. Though it's not accessible we enjoy the breeze and even get out for a walk at midnight on the property,” she said.
Hoping for a break post a hectic work schedule, Johnson, said that she drove down to Goa on March 17, with her husband Adnan Khambatti, their five-and-a-half year old daughter Sarrah and two friends.
“We were supposed to leave for Pune on Sunday, March 22 around noon but the Janta curfew was declared so we decided to leave on Monday morning (March 23),” she said.
Johnson said that the family drove to the Goan state border on March 23 but local cops informed them while they would let them cross, authorities on the other side would not let them enter Maharashtra. “Later a complete three week shutdown was declared so we had no choice but to stay. I had work lined up but I had no choice but to postpone it,” she said.
Johnson was in for a rude shock when the resort told her that they would shut down on March 31. “ The 17 of us were stranded and stressed because no other hotel would allow new people,” she said. However, after contacting local authorities and cops, the resort management finally let them stay on.
“Initially they gave us grief and did things like stopping breakfast, turning off the hot water and stopping the room service for a few days until the cops were called again. After this they helped us as they had no choice,” she added.
Johnson said that the resort has now provided them with a make shift kitchen. “It is not possible to eat hotel food for so many days. Slowly things started falling in place,” she said. She said they had even given them a 50 percent discount on the room rates. “So they dropped the price from Rs four thousand to two thousand..”, Johnson said.
Johnson said that her daughter had adjusted well and even made a friend with another child on the property. Birthdays too have been celebrated on the premises.
She said in the interim she had procured a travel permit as she is a doctor but it was only to exit Goa. “But the travel permit I got was not applicable for Maharashtra so I had to apply for a Maharashtra permit which is still in the process,” she said.
Johnson said that she would make another attempt to leave on April 14, the final day of the national lockdown.