MARGAO: Reminding the State government that the robbery at the St Andrew’s Church at Vasco is the third such incident in the last 43 days, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco has demanded not just the law enforcement but also the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should, along with the State government, beef up the security around the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Reginaldo said that in the past 43 days, it is the third such incident of robbery involving the Church of Goa.
“The first one was a theft at the 16th Century Se Cathedral, a World Heritage Site followed by another at the St Jerome Church of Mapusa and now at St Andrew’s Church of Vasco,” said the Curtorim MLA.
“The robberies in the said cases involving churches seem to follow somewhat a similar pattern like the breaking and desecration of Holy Crosses in Goa in 2017, where till date we do not know who was the main culprit/s or organisation/s behind the shocking acts of vandalism,” said Reginaldo.
“I request your good self to beef up the security and the surveillance in the State of Goa on the churches, temples, mosques, religious structures or other monuments, which may be next target of robbers and anti-social elements who may be trying to disturb Goa’s cherished communal harmony,” he added.
“It is imperative upon the Government of Goa not only to instruct the Goa Police and other law enforcement agencies of the State government but also instruct ASI to completely beef up its security apparatus all along with the churches, temples, monuments, etc, and also along all UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in Old Goa and across the State,”demanded Reginaldo.
