PERNEM: After the beach cleaning by a group of Canadian tourists, another group of foreign tourists, this time the Russians played Munnabhais. They did the required Gandhigir and washed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi which was covered with dirt and bird litter.
The tourists were visiting the Bhagwati temple at Pernem, recently, when one of them noticed a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the temple garden covered with dirt and bird litter in the temple garden.
Immediately, the tourist brought water from a nearby shop and washed the statue clean. The tourist was assisted by her companions. Later, she bought a fresh garland and adorned the statue with it and left.
The Russian tourists’ respect for Gandhi is an example of Gandhi’s world wide appeal.
Last month, a group of Canadian tourists had cleaned up the Pernem beaches, conveying the message that they come to Goa not just for enjoyment, but they do care for the State’s wellbeing.
There are three gardens in Pernem; one has a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the second that of Dr Ambedkar and the third has late Mashelkar’s. All these three gardens are within the jurisdiction of Pernem Municipal Council. Though it is the responsibility of the municipality to maintain them, yet the gardens are in shambles since more than 8-10 years.
The Ambedkar garden is located near St Joseph High School and it is a favourite place for children and elderly. But now no one visits the garden except on the birth and death anniversaries of Ambedkar.
A Pernem resident lamented that the gardens have been created only for namesake and the statues of these great leaders are erected to pay them lip-service. “Maintaining the gardens named after these great leaders is only secondary; the primary objective of creating these gardens is to propagate the message of these leaders to the new generations. But sadly, these leaders are remembered only on their birth or death anniversaries,” he decried.
When questioned why the three gardens were in shambles, Pernem Municipal Council Deputy Chairperson Upendra Deshprabhu said that the Goa Tourism has undertaken renovation work of Gandhi garden and Mashelkar garden. As for the Ambedkar garden, he said, a tender has been floated by GSUDA and the work on the same would be taken up as soon as the tender is approved.
Blaming the previous council for the poor condition of the gardens in the town, Deshprabhu said, “The previous council did not maintain the gardens regularly.”
“Now, once these gardens are renovated, the municipality will maintain them by appointing a gardener. Also, the status of Mahatma Gandhi will be shifted from its current location garden to Mashekar Garden,” he added.
