Goa is full of mafias and goon unions now
Goa has been one of the most popular destination but unfortunately some things which are happening and I experienced. The beautiful tourist destination goa is losing its legacy if we don't act
1- Just after entering in Goa, there's aggressive and rude taxi union is going to welcome you with baseless cost. The union is so strong that if some driver even think about genuine rate then they come to attack on those drivers. Everybody is forced to follow.
2- Some of bus conductor are horrible. I was in bus from Baga to Panjim and conductor was literally abusing passengers in bus.
3- Drugs , drink and casino everywhere and many of those business builders are in very much connection to mafias. Got to know many stories which I might put in next articles.
4- Thiefs around. Just kept shoes around beach for 5 mins and somone took that. When I started searching and planning about police complaint for CCTV camera. Bunch of guys(gundas) came in and said that 'go away else you'll be beaten.' no idea what the hell it was.
But some people are really nice . I was walking(infact rushing to airport) and one very nice uncle came in. Said that let me drop you. These small things makes india a really beautiful place but on other side, goons and unions are something where we should collectively raise voice.
One interview, 1000+ job opportunities
Take a 10-min AI interview to qualify for numerous real jobs auto-matched to your profile 🔑
I have visited Goa with my friends in 2021 and I have experienced one of the worst time there because apart from all the points you have mentioned above, we have experienced one of the unforgettable moment in Goa.
Let me explain. We had been to casino and while returning, we have decided to visit Tito‘s pub, we were three friends going in two bikes that time a group of three people has followed us and attacked us in the dark area. They accused us of scolding them in the local language which we did not do.
In that place, there was a small restaurant and around 10 people were there, but still nobody came to rescue us. They have kidnapped us to some place and after two hours of struggle, they have released us taking all our belongings like money jewels.
Strange. Just to add,
my cab driver told me that be careful because you are not local so you might get robbed. Keep your things in your pocket. And when my shoe was stolen. One local guy came and his literal sentence was : yha se chale jaao nahi toh attack ho jaayega
I see these posts on reddit so often. Never thought it would make its way to GV. I'm glad you actually care about fixing the problem.
You're right about alot of the issues you've mentioned.
Let's look at the causes around these:
- the current state government is the main reason of goa's deterioration as they have very little interest in the welfare of the state and its people. Their main focus is greed and ways in which they make money through every single avenue to line their own pockets, very little of which actually goes back into actual meaningful development of touristic initiatives for the state.
2- due to point 1, and post covid there has been a huge influx of lower class migrant workers into the state, which was not very prevalent earlier. For instance, pre covid, goa never had fast commerce apps like Swiggy, blinkit, zomato etc, with the introduction of alot of these apps which ofcourse has led to convenience in many ways, there has also led to a mass increase in the number of these migrant workers who have come into the state due to its open culture and are living off these wages while not really contributing much to the state in any other way. Housing prices have gone up drastically, traffic has significantly increased, safety has decreased, illegal activities increased etc.
3- most of the local population that you find in goa is either old and retired, or ex nris. Almost 70% of working aged goans don't really live in India. Which is why, when people blame locals for illegal activities, it's a very very small fraction of actual goans involved in these incidents who are usually from remote areas. There's so many people who live here and speak the local language and aren't even originally from here.
As a matter of fact, you might think that every cab driver is a goan, which might be obvious, but that isn't the case. Alot of these drivers come from neighbouring areas such as karwar or hubli. Some of them even go as far as using a relative or friend who has a goan taxi permit to drive around. Something which is common in Bangalore and Mumbai. All this creates a bad impression for the state and locals.
So next time you're in goa, keep these things in mind, observe the people around you, remember that the goa of today is slowly disappearing and it's because as indians we don't have respect for our neighbours homes.
In my experience personally I didn't find any immigrants going abusive or bad but No idea if they are from a neighbouring state. All I know that they were deeply inside system such as govt buses, taxis, clubs and so on.
But point is: I don't want to keep it goa vs other state. I see India as a whole with no boundary divide. Intention of the post is: how goa can regain its legacy and in my opinion, it's possible with strict laws again goons, mafias, thieves , people who are playing with civic sense. Especially against goons.
It was 2018-19 . A group of college friends went Goa for vacation.3M,3F . so they hopped into a beach party… few local people just targeted one girl, molested her,touched her inappropriate places … they went out of the party.
And unfortunately laws are fun to them. We really need strict laws in country against goons, real estate mafias and characterless personas. But unfortunately none of these exists
Sorry to say this man, you should read my comment above. If you've lived in goa long enough, you'll know that locals don't go to clubs, tourist beaches, or basically anywhere tourists go.
Anyone claiming they're from goa, is not from goa. Not to discredit your experience, but it's highly likely that they were not touched by locals.
Really? I have been to goa almost 3 times and everytime I love it. Never faced such things. The prices for everything had definitely increased but never faced any problems from locals. I think I last went in 2024.
That's what my expectation was but things happened and I couldn't stop myself from typing here.