Freedom Fighters’ Memorial at Assolna Lohia Maidan in bad shape

MARGAO: Freedom Fighters Memorial at Lohia Maidan in Assolna is in a dilapidated condition. Locals claim that the panchayat does not want to take responsibility for its regular maintenance. Nixon Gomes, a resident of Velim, and a cycling enthusiast said that while cycling through the village on Liberation Day, he was sad looking at the Freedom Fighters Square. 

“The memorial was in bad shape. The authorities should have at least cleaned it for the Liberation Day as it is covered with cut branches of surrounding trees as if they were kept for drying. The flagpole was without a flag. This is an insult to the people who sacrificed so much for Goa”, he said.

During Liberation Day, the panchayat or any other village group did not hold any programme at the memorial. Gomes said that he is determined to find a way to restore the memorial. “I want to revive this amazing place which is a great remembrance of our ancestors”, he said.

The panchayat has washed its hands off from maintaining the chowk claiming that the land doesn’t belong to them.

Advocate Gustav Clovis Da Costa  expressed his anguish over the neglect of the memorial. “Nobody is maintaining it. At least the government should take over the memorial and maintain it”, he said.

Assolna holds a significant place in Goa’s Liberation history since it is the village where Ram Manohar Lohia stayed and from where planned his historic march on June 18, 1946.