When you think of Goa, what is it that you first think of? In most cases, it would be beaches sunsets coconuts and beer. Some of you might have some niche or nuanced Goan fetish but in all likelihood it will not be outside the ambit of a consumerist tourist economy.

Do you know that a Goan village in Pernem called Tiracol has been entirely sold to build a golf course and that might entirely evict the residents?

Are you aware that while you consume the Goa of your dreams at the coastlines, the hinterlands in Goa are unsustainably mined? Add to it bureaucratic excesses, corruption, and health hazards and overall deterioration of living conditions for locals

Do you know that the Goan Catholics are at the receiving end of a consistently biased policy making regime which has reduced the number of Goan Catholics employed in govt jobs?

This steady disenfranchisement has also led to many surrendering their Indian citizenship and opting for a Portuguese citizenship. No one seems to be talking about this forced migration.

Do you know that second homes have spiked real estate prices to an extent that locals cannot buy real estate in their own state anymore?

Are you aware of the toxic impact of luxury tourism on Goan environment? The sheer scale of the garbage problem in Goa is becoming difficult to deal with.

Do you know that river based Casinos have been consistently accused of polluting rivers and the aquatic eco system? Turtle nesting sites have been impacted. Several species of fish endangered.

Do you know that high end luxury resorts have monopolised entry to the beaches in Goa, leaving traditional fishing communities without access to the sea which they’ve had for decades?

Are you aware the sheer amount of sexual harassment young women in coastal regions have to face from the Indian tourists? To an extent that women from Calangute, Baga refrain from telling that stay in these towns simply because people will consider them sexually available?

Do you know that high end housing complexes such as Aldeia de Goa, where several Bollywood stars boast of owning properties, have been constructed after clearing mountains and forests?

With a growing tourist economy, there’s is an increasing demand of seafood consumption. To meet that demand, unsustainable fishing method such as gelatin bombs are used, trawlers get into the sea even beyond the fishing period.

This leaves the traditional fishing communities at loss and also has adverse impact on growth and sustainability of fishing as a practice/profession.

All in all, Goa is a land of its people and their problems. I can give you a talukawise list of civic issues and how the locals are fighting the govt which is in cahoots with the industrial and tourist lobby.

Those of you desire to move to Goa for retirement or second homes, do not want to engage or address these issues because in a way your desire is largely responsible for this fuelling an unsustainable demand from a limited and fast depleting resource.

Surely the law doesn't stop you from moving to Goa or buying a property here. So you don't need a native approval to what you please. But bear in mind the multitude of the impact you are going to create.

Surely our political leadership has failed us. They have exploited the outsider insider rhetoric to fuel their political careers & hide their inadequacies. Also, now with one party amassing unprecedented power & dismantling federalism, the Goans have a very less bargaining power.