Maldives Suspends Tourists from India But Desis Took Off With Memes Roasting Bollywood Celebs

India is reeling under the second wave of Covid-19, with spiralling numbers that may soon push the country to the most affected in the world due to the virus. Several other countries are currently temporarily banning flights from India to control infections in their countries. Many countries, including the UK, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore and Iran have announced a ban on flights from India. Other than direct bans countries like the US has issued a travel advisory to all passengers flying in and out of India, asking “people to avoid travelling to India in the current situation where even fully vaccinated individuals are at risk of catching the virus." The latest on this list to impose new restrictions is the Maldives.

The Ministry of Tourism, put out a tweet late on Sunday announcing the suspension of tourists from India at inhabited islands.

“With effect from 27 April @HPA_mv suspends tourists travelling from #India to #Maldives from staying at tourist facilities in inhabited islands. We thank you for the support in our endeavour to make tourism safest possible with minimum inconvenience."

Following the announcement, all desis had the same joke: On Bollywood celebrities. Many Bollywood celebrities have been facing flak in the past weeks for posting their vacation pictures while the country is dealing with the Covid-19 second wave. Maldives has been one of the most popular destinations among celebs, and many actresses, like Janhvi Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Disha Patani had been posting their photos from the beach destination. Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt too flew to the Maldives recently, but haven’t shared any pictures yet.

Bollywood celebrities that have been posting these picture have been criticised by many within their own fraternity. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is among them — when asked about stars posting vacation pictures during an interview, he said, “These entertainment celebrities posting vacation pictures at a time when the world is reeling under the worst recession. …Logon ke pass khana nahin hai aur aap paise phenk rahe ho. Kuch toh sharm karo (People don’t have food and you are wasting money, have some shame)."

The actor also says that the celebs are posting about their vacation because they have nothing worthwhile to talk about. “What else will they talk about? Acting? They will run out of steam in two minutes. In logon ne Maldives ko tamasaha bana rakha hai. I don’t know what their arrangement is with the tourism industry. But for the sake of humanity, please keep these vacations to yourself. There is suffering everywhere. The cases of Covid are multiplying. Have a heart. Please don’t taunt those who are suffering," he said.

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