MARGAO: You don’t need to see. You actually need a FORESIGHT. While several candidates for the panchayat election have filed nominations by taking political patronage, Florencio Gregorio Dias from Betul has defied all the rules of the game. Florence, 66, is visually impaired. He lost his sight 12 years ago. Unlike the over 1500 nominations and unlimited political aspirations, Florencio is in the ring to defeat his disability and take part in the biggest competition of democracy.
Florencio Gregorio Dias has filed his nomination from Naqueri Betul panchayat.
Florencio said “I may win or lose, that’s not my aim, I want to be stall tall and be the HOPE for all those blind people in the country and beyond.”. “The country has many blind persons who have either lost their eyesight from childbirth or later due to several reasons. But he’s one of those who will not allow himself to be cowed down due to his disabilities. His motto is Ekla Cholo Re and if you are right, you will have company. I have taken this step to light up the fire of confidence amongst my brethren,” he said.
He said he wanted to change the face of Naqueri Betul. “Situated on the seashores, the village has a huge scope for development of tourism and has many natural water sources. I will initiate and develop these sources” said Dias.
Florencio has been a member of the National Association of Blind and has worked as a counsellor for the Blind. Florence, a bachelor, cooks, gardens and cleans his house all by himself.
Florencio takes English classes and he has his own organisation. He is also a good actor and had in 1971 acted in a tiatr “Tujhe Kalij Mhaka”. A foreign-based organisation which held a public speaking course in Goa awarded Florencio as the best public speaker.
With so many accolades, Florencio also impressed the Mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar who said that this is an example of how one shouldn’t fear disabilities and keep moving ahead in life.
