PANAJI: Goa Freedom Fighters’ Association has thanked Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant for publicly announcing that a full-size statue of veteran freedom fighter Alfred Afonso, hoisting the tricolour flag, would be installed at the historic Terekhol fort in Pernem.
In response to the demand made by GFFA President Rohidas Desai in this regard, Dr Sawant made this announcement at a function held last week in Panaji to release books on trials by the Portuguese government of six freedom fighters, on the occasion of the death anniversary of Dr T B Cunha.
The freedom fighters were upset since the plaque at the Terekhol fort with the names of Alfred Afonso and 14 other satyagrahis was demolished by the PWD authorities when they began work to install two busts of Hirve Guruji and Sheshnath Wadekar, who had laid their lives on 15 August 1955.
On 15 August 1954, a batch of satyagrahis led by Mumbai-based 30-year-old Alfred Afonso from Poinguinim-Canacona had entered Goa from Shiroda in Maharashtra and had captured the Terekhol fort. After the Portuguese police ran away, he unfurled the tricolour flag on the flag post, which remained there till the Portuguese struck back the next day morning. This is the sole heroic incident of Goa’s independence struggle, where the Indian tricolour was hoisted on the flag
post in the Portuguese Goa.
The Chief Minister at the function organised by the Department of Gazetteer at Patto in Panaji released five books of six trials including Anthony de Souza, Mark Fernandes, Alfred Afonso, Shrimati Divkar, Shashikala Almeida Hodarkar and Vilasini Prabhu at the function held at the Art Gallery at Patto in Panaji. GFFA President Desai also congratulated the Department of Goa Gazetteer for restarting the work of publishing books on Goa’s freedom struggle. At the function, the department also displayed 20 portraits of eminent freedom fighters painted by the students of Goa College of Art. He appreciated special efforts taken in this regard by Secretary (Gazetteer) Prasad Lolayekar