The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) on Thursday cancelled all permissions granted for film and television serial shootings in the state in the wake of the raging COVID-19 pandemic. ESG is the Goa government's nodal agency which is empowered to give permission for commercial shootings in the coastal state. Several film and TV serial makers from Mumbai and Chennai recently shifted their shootings to Goa in the wake of the surge in Covid-19 cases in their respective places, ESG’s Vice Chairman Subhash Phal Desai told PTI.
He said all permissions granted for film shootings in Goa have now been cancelled till the situation in the state comes under control. “We will not allow any shooting of films or television serials in public or private properties,” he said. All those currently shooting films and serials in Goa have also been asked to wind up their schedules, Phal Desai added. Phal Desai said the state government has enforced strict curbs, including imposition of Section 144 of CrPC, which bans assembly of five or more people at one place, due to which shootings cannot be permitted. The ESG will review its decision only after the situation is under control, he said. Goa, a hugely popular tourist destination, has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, with up to one in every two people testing positive in recent weeks, government officials said on Wednesday.