Couple of years ago when my wife was driving me down by her Maruti Alto k10 car to undergo a minor surgery at Margao, just about 100 metres away from my home, we met with an accident with a brand new Karnataka registered Innova Crysta. Both cars were badly damaged but by the grace of almighty we two, together with the lone occupant of Crysta, were unhurt. I got out from our car and politely said to the driver, supposedly the owner of the car for amicable solution though we were not at fault. Within fraction of few minutes, this migrant car owner was capable enough to gather a good number of people from his own community to overpower me in my own village. Sadly a lot from persons of my own community were watching the scene and fortunately my ward boys stood for me till the last.
The police were called to carry out the Panchanama; both the cars were taken to the police station. I went to undergo the planned surgery; my ward brothers accompanied my wife to the police station. The matter was sorted out by the Police the way I suggested at the site before the arrival of the Police. The driver of the car involved in the accident was missing at the Police station with his own community members representing him. My wife insisted on his presence but the Police had other stories to tell. The culprit was closely related to one of the migrant owners of a factory at highly polluted Cuncolim Industrial Estate. In the evening, someone from my community comes at my house and shows me the entire CCTV recording of the accident and when I requested him to forward it to me on my WhatsApp number, he said ‘yes’ but he never does.
Few days ago, exactly opposite the “Angela Cafeteria” (A fashion boutique run by a migrant) at Margao, a migrant fish seller dared to halt his two-wheeler in front of a Maruthi 800 car driven by a Goan middle age man with his wife. The migrant fish seller was arguing with the Goan resulting in a heavy traffic jam. Many Goans, including the traffic cop manning the Zebra crossing at Radio Mundial, were just watching the scene doing nothing. The incident was irritating. I could not hold myself. Politely I told the migrant fish seller to leave the place or else land up in trouble. The migrant fish seller smelling trouble leaves the place with immediate effect.
The two incidents look minor but say a lot. We Goans are being overpowered in our own state. Even one of our own girls was raped on the Betalbatim beach by migrant culprits who later ran away from the custody of law. It’s high time for us to stay united and stand for each other and if we fail to do so then we all are marching towards a miserable future. Our young and old ladies are no longer safe in our own Goa. If anyone of us gets trapped at Moti Dongor, Gandhi Market at Margao, Zuari Nagar, etc, it is hard to find a way out. Some youth are fighting to save Goa and Goans from this migrant menace. I can’t guarantee their intentions but the issue is real. Is it worth pulling down such people who are taking the real issues affecting Goa and Goans? Let us get united as one family and save what little beautiful Goa remains. Together we can do it and let’s do it for our Goa.
