Couto embodied Christian spirit in all glory: Archbishop

Couto embodied Christian spirit in all glory: Archbishop
HERALD NEWS BUREAU
PANJIM, JULY 1
Politicians, writers, artistes, social activists and people from all over the State paid their last respects to noted bureaucrat Alban Couto (80), who was laid to rest at the St Thomas Church cemetery in Aldona on Wednesday evening.
Presiding over the con-celebrated Mass at the funeral service, Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao described Couto as a man of integrity and honour in both his public and professional life, who embodied the Christian spirit in all its glory.
While Fr Avinash Rebello delivered the homily at the Mass, other concelebrants included Aldona Parist Priest Fr Amandio Valladares and Nachinola Parish Priest Fr Everest Gama.
In his eulogy, Alban Couto’s son, Vivek Couto, said that his father was a true son of secular India, whose worldview was shaped by the inclusive vision of a free India, with a rich diversity of people of different faiths and communities, as well as a deep commitment to the Goan ethos and identity.
Padmashri Suresh Amonkar, in his eulogy, spoke about how Alban Couto, during his tenure as the first Development Commissioner of Goa after Liberation, helped to ease the transition of Goa into the Indian Union and did much to allay the anguish and doubt of the Goan people during this difficult period.
Couto helped to create appropriate systems to enable Goa to integrate into India, notable among which was the Grant-in-Aid system which he devised and introduced for secondary school education in Goa, a system that is in operation to the present day, said Amonkar.
Even after retirement, Couto continued to contribute to the development of Goa as advisor to the government, and his crowning achievement during this period was his work in the Second Goa State Finance Commission and the JICA sewerage and water supply system set up with Japanese aid, which he helped to devise and will soon be implemented in the State.
Among the noted political personalities who attended the funeral service were Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and ex-Chief Minister Dr Wilfred D’Souza.
Governor Dr S S Sidhu, Speaker Pratapsingh Rane, Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar and Goa University Vice-Chancellor Prof D Deobagkar visited the house to condole with the family prior to the funeral.
Alban Couto was a prolific writer who wrote a variety of articles on various issues related to Goa and was also a music aficionado.
 This was reflected in the various personalities from the artistic and literary world who attended the funeral, including Remo Fernandes, Girish Karnad, Amitav Ghosh, Tomazinho Cardozo, Pundalik Naik, Tanaji Halarnkar and Ramesh Veluskar. Social activists Claude Alvares, Padmashri Norma Alvares and Patricia Pinto were also present at the service.