PANJIM: PWD minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar has appealed to the people to stop glorifying Narkasur and instead worship Lord Krishna to celebrate Diwali in an authentic, traditional way. The minister who had made a similar appeal in the past, has also demanded a ban on Narkasur-making competitions alleging that youth are 

Worship Krishna, instead of glorifying Narkarsurs: Sudin 

inculcating bad habits and it leads to road accidents.

“Statistics have shown that at least 25 major accidents have occurred on the eve of Diwali, when the Narkasur effigies are burnt. Of these some even lost their lives. The Narsukar making trend should stop also because children are adopting bad habits like consuming beer while they spend late hours in making the demon’s effigies. We should rather worship Lord Krishna who killed the asura (demon),” he said, speaking to Herald. The minister urged parents to keep their children away from making Narkasurs and such competitions. He also asked political parties to stop funding/giving donations for the competitions. 

The senior MGP leader has also appealed to the people to celebrate the festival of lights in an authentic traditional way. “The festival actually begins 10-15 days before Goddess Laxmi Puja like Bhai Duj, padva and other festivals. We should encourage this type of celebrations,” he said. 

In a bid to create awareness, the MGP is holding special celebrations across different constituencies on October 20 wherein varieties of pohas would also be made.