Team Herald
MARGAO: Martyrs Memorial and a statue of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia went missing on Friday soon after the news pertaining to the same was published on Herald.
Leader of Opposition and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat was also shocked over the missing statue and Martyrs Memorial when he visited the Lohia Maidan.
Herald had highlighted the issue and had exposed the negligence from the concerned authorities and mostly by the concerned contractor for lying statue and Martyrs Memorial in abandoned conditions. However, on Friday morning both gone missing from the abandoned places.
Taking serious note of the issue, Kamat along with Avinash Shirodkar, president of The 18th June Kranti Din Committee visited the Lohia Maidan.
He summoned Margao Municipal Council Engineer Diniz D’Mello, Junior Engineer Viraj Bodnekar, and instructed them to immediately find out the whereabouts of the missing statue and the Martyrs Memorial.
“I demand that the statue and the Martyrs Memorial must be stored at a safe place in a secured manner till the completion of the beautification of Lohia Maidan,” said Kamat.
He said that it is the duty of Archaeology Department to ensure that such historical monuments are preserved properly. The apathy of the government towards giving respect to all those who contributed to the freedom struggle of India and the Liberation Movement of Goa stands exposed once again.
“The BJP government, which feels that all that happened in India is only after 2014 has tried to destroy the places of historical importance. I am shocked to note that the statue of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and the Martyrs Memorial is missing from Lohia Maidan. This incident exposes the fake nationalism of the BJP. I demand that Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant must immediately take note and ensure that the statue and the memorial are traced and secured,” he stated.
He further said that the State government insulted the freedom fighters by not inviting them for the 60th Goa Liberation Day celebrations held on December 19, 2020. Our leader Rahul Gandhi exposed the BJP government at the Centre for destroying the historical traces at Jalianwala Bagh under the guise of beautification.
“The BJP government has no respect for the martyrdom of freedom fighters. They are only interested in making events of every opportunity to get political mileage. I strongly condemn the actions of the BJP government of insulting the freedom fighters and their families,” Kamat said.
He also demanded that the beautification work of the Lohia Maidan must be completed immediately and this historic place must be made available for the people to pay their respect on December 19, 2021, which will coincide with the completion of 60 years of Liberation of Goa.
