Even as the heat is on to get away with megaprojects in the coastal belt of
South Goa, with the gram sabha's nearly pulverising the panchayats a strange
incident took place last night.
In a written complaint now with this writer ,filed before the Colva
Police Station, a 50 year lady resident of Surat in the Western State of
Gujarat, who was residing for the past 10 days with her sister in a
Row villa at Damika residency Grande Vanelim Colva , alleged that
around 2100 hrs on 1st June 2008 Sunday, she and her niece were
proceeding towards the residence of the milk man residing nearby to inform him
not to supply milk the next morning, on reaching an area between the
L & L Constructions of a Navelim builder and the
Akar Constructions site of a Margao builder site on the
main asphalted Colva Benaulim road a person around 20 to 26 years
wearing a red short sleeved T shirt approximately 5' 6' black hair and
appearing to be under the influence of alcohol and in an inebriated state
suddenly attacked her and caught hold of her mouth
and tried to molest her. It was her niece who burst out into
shreiks of screams which then led the man pushe her onto the nearby
shrubbery and seeing people from atop the nearby apartments fran away in the
cover of darkness.
There has already been a vociferous demand by the residents of Colva before the
unconcluded gram sabha Subday before last that the builders should not be
permitted to allow the menial workers to reside in the vicinity of the site, as
they were a potential threat of malaria disease and a threat to the peace and
tranquility of the village.
Agitated by the above untoward incident the crowd went amock and pulled up all
the male residents from the settlements mostly huts with tin sheets near the
"poder" bus stop close to the Micon Builders Construction site to enable
the victim identify the culprit. Meanwhile the Police at Colva were
summoned to take stock of the situation. Using this opportunity to
settle scores at around 2230 hrs bells at the Chapel of Menino Jesus
Near Dando grounds and Holy Cross Chapel Near the "Dodi Baim" were pealed
and the surging crowds that rushed to the venue demanded that all the
male labourers be rounded up and taken under police custody.. There are
about 150 construction labourers of the L & L Builders and another 140 of
Akar Constructions near "Dorig Bar" . Calls made to the Builders proved
of no avail except when one contractor Mr Lawande turned uo to pacify the
agitated villagers. The Police
expressed helplessness to take in such a large contigent but the villagers
would have none of these excuses. In the absence of the PI Mr Edwin
Colaco who is on leave according to a Head Costable of Police station, the
assistance of a PI from Margao was requisition. The villagers with
the help of the police rounded up all the male labourers in the police van and
only when they were certain that the workers will be cleared of the
construction sites the people left. This was well past midnight and
around 0210 hrs on 2nd June, 2008.
When this writer visited the site late evening today at around 2045
hrs there was unseasonal rains and lightening a wake up call of the onset
monsoons. The situation appeared tense though many of the workers
and their families have moved away with their baggage. It was noticed in
the hutments that there were concrete supported beds, mosquito nets and
cemented areas. Apparently the accomodation has been provided to ensure
that the productivity of the workers is used to full steam else they are
compelled to be transported in overloaded pick-ups to the nearest town - in the
instant case Margao.
Ironically the timing of the incident, was at a wrong moment as normally once
the onset of South West Monsoons in Kerala since 29th May, 2008 the workers
mostly agricultural labourers go back to their native place to venture into
their agricultural lands. Hence the exodus could also be for these
reasons, and they normally return after the harvest. Or in the event of
their native places being affected by droughts they continue in Goa and seek
agricultural occupations to meet the shortfall among Goan labour.
Some two other residents who preferred to remain annonymous for fear of a
backlash told this writer that they were afraid that the peace and
tranquilty of the area is being threatened. They had ventured to invest
in these apartments to have a peaceful life away from the hustle and bustle of
their cities but not need to reconsider their choice. It was an odd hour
in the village lifestyle to contact the victims as the neighbours appeared too
afraid to lead us to their apartments, and feigned ignorance of their exact
location.
Meanwhile it is learnt that the police have filed charges under section
509 of the IPC and investigations are on. The villagers are planning a
show down with the authoirites at the next gram sabha on 7th June, 2008 to
ensure that the peace and tranquility of the village is not lost forever.
from the Grande Vanelim end
GODFREY J. I. GONSALVES,
BORDA, MARGAO, 403 602, GOA. (INDIA)
+91 98221 58584 (24 HRS)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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