Maldives temporarily bans Indian tourists; Is it due to outrage over Bollywood celeb's luxurious vacations?

The nation is struggling amid the crippling shortage of medical supplies - triggered by the second wave of Covid-19 cases. In its attempt to curb the spread, the Maharashtra government imposed lockdown and it seemed celebs wanted to escape the harsh reality and take a break probably. 

The celebrities’ exodus towards the Maldives amid the nations’ struggle brought them under public scrutiny and the Indian diaspora seemed pissed - Twitter was flooded with memes as the nation learned of their departure from Mumbai airport. 

No sooner, the pictures of celebrities vacationing on the islands went viral, Twitteraties called them shameless and illiterates as people saw how the privileged ones have the routes to escape but it isn’t the case with the lower and middle classes. They also felt that the borders should be sealed for a while as celebs instead of raising awareness are running to the Maldives.

Among the host of celebs who vacationed in the Maldives since the pandemic started are Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover, Dia Mirza and the list goes on and on.

It wasn’t just Bollywood that was vacationing in Maldives, Television celebrities like Aamna Shariff, Rithvik Dhanjani, Surbhi Jyoti, Namish Taneja and his wife went on honeymoon. 

Yesterday (April 25), Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt-Ranbir Kapoor and Tiger Shroff-Disha Patani were seen returning from their Maldives vacation. 

Several other Bollywood celebrities like Janhvi Kapoor and others also got back a few days ago. Amidst the rising COVID-19 cases in India, and now the Maldives shut its gates for tourists.

In a shocking turn of events, the Maldivian government on Sunday (April 25), announced a travel ban on tourists from India from April 27. Ever since the announcement, the flurry of memes on celebs who have turned the Maldives into new Mumbai has overshadowed their gorgeous pictures from the location.

The tweet from the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives read, “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 (sic).”

Right after the Tourism Ministery's tweet went viral, a flurry of memes sparked on Twitter and netizens couldn't hold back from trolling the celebrities. 

Check out a few memes:

However, did you know, celebrities still have access to their Maldivian paradise and commoners still have to accept their privilege.

The Maldives holds a one-island one-resort concept, which are all private and secluded. While the archipelago is a collection of more than a thousand islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a speedboat or a seaplane takes you to your destination island from the Velana airport, without actually visiting the capital city or the islands inhabited by the locals. 

Hence, Bollywood celebrities still possess a chance to take off for a Maldivian vacation at their resort on their chosen island.