The growing number of migrants in and around Margao has been a nuisance. There are migrants loitering in and around the municipal garden, municipal square and municipal building spitting and dirtying. Several migrants are seen at the Colva circle begging while a number of them move around.
At gate number two in the New Market, there used to be a lady with a small child always sleeping and one could hear people murmuring: She gives sleeping pills to this child! Otherwise, how does the child remain sleeping throughout every day?” while another said: “She doesn’t want to work!”
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A few days back, I was sitting in a shop due to sudden rains. Suddenly one beggar lady came and the owner of the shop took a note of 20 rupees and handed it over to her but she refused the cash and replied saying, “Give me ice-cream”. Seeing this act, I was stunned and looked at her in awe! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the modern-day beggars!
Just then the owner of the wife said, this is nothing. I had a nightmare. Do you want to know what happened to me at Pajifond, Margao? It was December, and while parking my bike, one child came to beg and stood beside me by extending his hand. I put my hand in the bag and gave him the notes I had but he refused and exclaimed, “mhuje khana de”. I went to the nearby store and told the shopkeeper to give the child some eatables…I had not finished telling. The beggar boy told the lady, basmati rice, atta, oil, dal, etc, and the bill came to 600 rupees. The lady told the boy that she is not having branded rice and flour.
Then I went to another store to buy some other foodstuff, this boy followed me to that shop saying, madam, “hei shop mei atta hai”. This was not the end!
I returned to my bike to go back, just then another boy came and said, I also want what you gave him. She told the former boy to share with this boy half of the things but he went away. Then again, I went to the store and gave this boy some foodstuff. When I asked the shopkeeper why she refused to give the boy the branded stuff as actually for you, it’s business! She replied: There is a group of ten who are moving around and carrying on this dirty business, a scam we can call it. And if this continues, people will stop coming to our store because of this menace I refuse.
When I heard this incident I was disturbed, why do they don’t complain about this new begging style or scams happening in bright daylight, I questioned? Yes, she retorted. It is a grave matter which needs to be addressed at the earliest and the owner of these supermarkets or stores, need to act soon taking precautions and alerting the customers not to fall prey to these urchins begging around their stores and around the locality.
Could children begging around be tracked by the police and the government find a solution to this growing menace, finding a place to keep them and save Goa and the Goans from falling prey to these dirty tricks?
