ANJUNA: In October this year, Danson D’Souza from Anjuna was killed while trying to rescue a local tea stall owner from a fire. D'Souza, 38, rushed to help Reshma Uskaikar, who was performing Lakshmi Poojan when the fire broke out, engulfing the entire shop in flames. The fire caused an LPG cylinder to explode, flinging both D'Souza and Uskaikar away, and causing them to sustain grave burn injuries. D'Souza was declared brought dead at the Mapusa District Hospital, but Uskaikar survived.
D'Souza was a well-loved personality in the village, who was known for his friendly and helpful nature, and his death came as a shock to the people of Anjuna, who have now demanded that the government honour him posthumously with a bravery award.
D’Souza’s sister Daniela said that there were many people around the shop when the fire broke out, but Danson was the only one to rush towards danger that day, without even a second thought for his life. “He was helping the woman put the fire out, and save her shop. He was trying to douse the fire with buckets of water, when the cylinder burst. He deserves the bravery award as he showed selflessness and courage that day,” said Daniela. “He believed in the philosophy of 'do not go to the grave with all the good that you have, you should die empty, after giving goodness to all',” recalled Daniela.
Activist Rajan Ghate said that D’Souza was a warrior, who would speak up for people who could not, and helped everyone who brought their problems to him. “Danson had reformed many from the addictions of cigarettes and alcohol. His intention was to make every person a better person and he was striving hard towards it,” said Ghate.
Apart from social work, D'Souza was also keen on protecting and preserving the environment. Panch member Agnes Carvalho revealed how he had collected around 1,500 Gulmohar seeds and distributed them among the people to grow the shady trees on the hills and fields of Mapusa, Parra and Gurim. "He was the good boy of the village, he would be the first one to help whenever we had to organise any event in the village. He deserves a bravery award for his selflessness," said Carvalho. The villagers remember him as the enthusiastic, cheerful young man who would reach out to support people that had nobody else, and was extremely fond of children.
“We were very heartbroken to lose this young man, who has touched the lives of so many. He was the only son to his parents. The government should recognise his good work and help his parents in whatever way possible,” said Santan Fernandes, a local.
D'Souza was also an active member of the Anjuna Raksha Manch, working to save the Anjuna-Baga plateau. Ghate recalled how he was implicated in a false case because of his activism, but was acquitted in 2021, after a trial that dragged on for 10 years of his youth.
Ghate added that the villagers have written to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary and the local MLA, to ensure that D'Souza's bravery does not go unrecognised, and to help comfort his parents Maria Antoga Milagrina and Joaquim Antonio Gregorio D'Souza.