TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Residents of Benaulim on Monday recovered a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and an image of Lord Krishna from the river Sal near the petrol pump.
Even as Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva took the Mother Mary statue to his house, questions were being raised why the Church authorities did not take custody of the statue and engage its curators to restore the statue to its glory.
Questions were also raised whether the statue of Mother Mary and the image of Lord Krishna were dumped in the river by thieves or burglars.
The Benaulim MLA, when contacted, however, said that he has taken the Mother Mary statue to his house to clean it as the paint had faded. “I have told the parish priest that I will clean the statue and bring it back for the blessing. He also said he has handed over the image of Lord Krishna to the Mahalaxmi temple.
When contacted, parish priest of Holy Trinity Church, Benaulim, Fr Rocklyn D’Costa said the Benaulim MLA requested to take the Mother Mary statue to his residence for cleaning and painting.
The statue and the image were found lying on the river bed Monday morning.
