Goa a hit hub with Delhi biggies

Leave alone Hawaiian shirts and dirt-cheap alcohol, the beaches in Goa have become hot estate items for Delhi's elites.

Delhi socialite/ entrepreneur Bina Ramani’s arrest in a forgery case from her restaurant cum-pub in Candolim, 20 kms from Panaji in Goa, points to several things.

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No, we are not talking about her arrest. What’s interesting is that Goa — the land of Hawaiian shirts, topless beaches and dirt-cheap alcohol, is the new hub of Delhi biggies who are buying permanent homes there.

Realty destination: Says Ashwin Chandiok, a real estate developer, “Prices in Goa have tripled over the last year and likely to double over the next.”

With disposable incomes soaring and metro prices skyrocketing, Goa is ideal for a second home — a spot that was once the preserve of the Vijay Mallyas and Jaipurias for their umpteenth mansion.

Designer Tarun Tahiliani, who has property in Goa, adds, “Few places have such beauty, culture and global flavour.” Why Goa & why now? The why is obvious because Goa has always been a hot destination.

As for ‘why now’, there are several explanations. Not only is Goa still an unspoilt all-season destination, the building developers too have found a way round the cumbersome property laws in the state. And Goa’s commercial market is up for a boom as well.

An overkill: Some people, however, are not happy with gee-whiz boom. Ace photographer Prabhuddha Dasgupta, who lives in Arpora village of Goa, says: “Property fat cats have suddenly discovered Goa as a golden destination. But they’re destroying the landscape, tearing down old Portuguese houses and building ugly condominiums in their place. And secondly, prices are going off the rails.”

But Dasgupta takes heart in the fact that interior Goa is likely to remain pristine and untouched.

So have you got your holiday home on the beach yet?