Team Herald
CANACONA: With few days left for the feast of Our Lady of Springs (Brotas) Church on Anjediva island, 15 devotees, who had submitted their names to the Minister of State for Defence for permission to visit the island, are eagerly waiting for a go ahead from the defence authorities.
The said church, which was built over 400 years ago, is the first church to be built in India outside of Kerala, and the church feast celebration is very dear to the devotees, who used to gather on the island on February 2, each year till the naval authorities banned the entry of civilians after 2004.
Since 2004, devotees from Goa and North Karnataka have been pleading with Defence authorities and the elected representatives to permit them to celebrate the feast.
However, the devotees from Goa and Karnataka argue that the authorities have gone against their own promise to allow devotees to celebrate two feasts in a year.
Moreover, the Defence Ministry on the recommendation of the local administration and the authorities at Sea Bird Naval base at Binaga, are adamant on their stand not to allow any civilians on the pretext of presence of vital naval installations in the church vicinity.
It may be recalled the Prime Minister’s Office had sought information over the ownership and other details of the Anjediva church last year, when Natividade D’Sa, a resident of Canacona wrote to the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the authorities to allow the faithful on the island on February 2 each year.
When contacted Canacona MLA and Deputy Speaker Isidore Fernandes said since last few months he has been communicating with the Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik and hopes that the naval authorities will allow limited number of devotees on February 2.
Enquiries with the local office of Minister of State for Defence revealed that the list of the devotees willing to visit the church to offer prayers on February 2, submitted by the petitioner has been sent to the authorities in Delhi with a strong recommendation to consider and a reply is expected very soon.
