CURCHOREM: The Navyug Vikas Manch (NVM) has decided to cancel the float parade in Quepem as groups are allegedly refusing to participate for fear of not getting money from the government.
At a press conference in Quepem on Sunday, NVM President and Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar informed that decision to cancel the float parade this year was taken due to various conditions put to the participating groups by the government.
Specifying one of the conditions, he said that government had decided to give Rs 1 lakh to each group to make a float with the condition that they have to compulsorily participate in the float parades organized by the government.
“When I contacted groups to ask them to participate in the Quepem float parade, they refused, saying that they would not get Rs 1 lakh from the government if they did not participate in the Mapusa parade, which will be held on the same day as the Quepem parade. And it is not possible for them to come to Quepem after participating in Mapusa,” said Kavlekar.
He further informed that NVM has been organizing the float parade in Quepem for the last 15 years and has been offering good prizes to attract groups without aid from the government.
He stated that NVM wanted to give Quepem locals the chance to watch the floats without travelling far.
He added, “The government has purposely put these conditions so that floats do not participate in other places, particularly places that are represented by Opposition MLAs.”
Demanding that the government allow the groups to participate anywhere in Goa, vice president of the Quepem Citizen Committee, Evangelist D’Costa said that people from Quepem were deeply hurt on hearing that the float parade was canceled as groups refused to participate in Quepem.
Meanwhile, NVM has planned other cultural programmes on the last day of Carnival in Quepem.
