Earlier, Goa was known only as sun, sand and sea, however now it’s also being recognized as a place of spiritual tourism. This is just an example of how the double engine Government has worked to bring about progress in Goa, said the Chief Minister, Dr Pramod Sawant at the 39th State-Level Goa Statehood Day celebrations held at Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir, Kala Academy, today. The Chief Minister further added that Goa is witnessing huge progress on the principles of ‘Virasat Aur Vikas’ (Heritage and Development) which is transforming the face of the State by leaps.
Urging everyone more particularly, the youth of Goa to join in the process of development of Goa, he made relevant plea to be part of the ‘Viksit Goem 2037 mission’ and asked them to be a part of the vision document the Government is currently preparing. He said that the Government is guided by the principles of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and has worked on making Goa Swayampurna. “If we put in more effort, we can make Goa Vikasit,” the Chief Minister added.
On the glorious occasion of Goa’s Statehood Day, Dr Sawant announced the Gomant Vibhushan Award, the highest civilian honour of the State of Goa, to well known devotional singer, Pandit Ajit Kumar Kadkade. The award is given to honour Goan origin personalities who have done admirable work in their field.
Dr Sawant remembered all the freedom fighters and all those who have contributed to Goa’s development as a State. He spoke of the significance of historic events like the Opinion Poll, language struggle, which helped to give Goa its unique identity.
Praising the iconic brands that were felicitated on the occasion, Dr Sawant said that what’s heartening to note is that these brands are being continued by next generations of these owners thus continuing traditions.
The iconic brands of Goa who were felicitated on the occasion for their contribution towards the economic growth of the State and for preserving Goa’s identity were Big Foot, Loutolim, Café Tato, Panaji, Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao, John Distilleries, Cuncolim, Zantye Cashew, Bicholim, Dangui Optician, Mapusa, Mauzo Photo Studio, Margao, Dr Carmo Gracias Hospital, Margao, Titos, Baga and Sagar Naik Mule, Ponda ((VirasataurVikas).
Dr Sawant said that henceforth every Goa Statehood Day, Goans who have contributed to the development of the State will be felicitated and those who know of such people can approach the CMO office or Department of Information and Publicity with such names.
Present on the occasion were Minister for Fisheries, Shri Nilkanth Halarnkar, Minister for Art and Culture, Shri Govind Gaude, Minister for Labour, Revenue and Waste Management, Shri Atanasio Monserrate, Minister for Tourism, Shri Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Water Resources, Shri Subhash Shirodkar, Minister for Power, Shri Ramkrishna Dhavlikar, Deputy Speaker, Shri Joshua de Souza, Ms. Jennifer Monserrate among others. Chief Secretary, Dr. V. Candevelou V, IAS, Advocate General, Devidas Pangam, State Information Commissioner, Shri Atmaram Bharve, among others. Earlier, Director of the Department of Information and Publicity, Shri Dipak M. Bandekar, welcomed the guests to the dais.
Earlier, Minister for Protocol, Shri Mauvin Godinho, in his welcome address said that it was a defining moment when we asked for a separate State and said it was the dream of Goans to maintain their separate identity. He said that in the last ten years Goa has progressed tremendously. At the same time, he said that the State receives a lot of criticism, which comes along when a lot of work is being done. He said that people should focus on the positive aspects of what is happening instead of being led with negativity.
He thanked the Central Government for its guidance and hand holding and said that after the able leadership of late Manohar Parrikar, Goa is now marching ahead under the dynamic leadership of Dr Pramod Sawant.
On the occasion, Goa was declared as a fully literate State under ULLHAS new India Literacy program. Jt Secretary Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, Smt Archana Awasthi, IRS, calling it a historic milestone for Goa, said that this achievement reflects the State’s long standing commitment to inclusive development and education and is an example to the rest of the country.
Director for State Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT) Meghana Shetgaonkar was felicitated and presented with a memento by the CM for their work in education in the State.
Five Government Departments were felicitated for following Best Practices in Governance. These Departments/bodies namely, Department of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation for their work on Swayampurna Goa initiative, Goa Waste Management Corporation for their waste management initiatives, Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities for their overall work related to Person with Disabilities, Department of Rural Development for active engagement and work for the betterment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Department of Panchayat for wealth out of waste initiative, Chicalim, near Jogger’s Park.
Swayampurna Village Panchayat of Taleigao, Tiswadi (North Goa) and Village Panchayat of Bandora, Ponda (South Goa) were also felicitated.
Shri Dilesh Anand Gauns Dessai, Chief Forest Surveyor/Engineer, Forest Department was felicitated as Swayampurna Mitra for the Village Panchayat, Taleigao. Shri Thanu Narayan Zalmi, Statistical Officer, Directorate of Social Welfare, was felicitated as Swayampurna Mitra for Village Panchayat, Bandora.
The Bhasha Puraskar awards of the Directorate of Official Language were also held on the momentous occasion. The ‘Bhasha Puraskar Yojana’ is for individuals who have worked for the upliftment of Konkani and Marathi languages.
The 2022-2023 ‘Dnyanpeeth Awardee Ravindra Kelekar Konkani Bhasha Puraskar’ was awarded to Shri. Manikrao Ram Nayak Gaunekar, for the year 2023-2024, the award went to Shri. Suresh Ramchandra Pai and for the year 2024-2025 the award went to Shri. Bhiku Bomi Naik.
The 2022-2023 ‘B. D. Satoskar Marathi Bhasha Puraskar’ was awarded to Shri. Shambhu Bhau Bandekar and for the year, 2023-2024 the award went to Shri. Anil Gajanan Samant and for the year 2024-2025, the award went to Shri. Ramesh D. Onskar.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a photo exhibition ‘Goa-Then and Now’. The exhibition will be open to the general public from 10.00 a.m to 7.00 p.m upto June 1, 2025. A web series ‘Bharat Hai Hum’ of the Department of Archives was also launched. Shri Munjal Shroff, Film Director and CEO of Graphiti Studio spoke of how Goa Chapter of the web series will be released soon which focuses on Goa’s Liberation struggle. He said that children are the most precious audience and they should learn of their roots and animation is the one of the best medium to do so.
Three books, ‘Temples of Goa’, ‘Gomantkiya Durganchya Vatevar’ and ‘Vikas Path: Goa’s Journey of Reform and Renewal’ were released on the occasion.
Sponsor letter under CFF Scheme of Home Department and sponsor letter under Compassionate Scheme of Personnel Department were distributed to beneficiaries at the Goa Statehood function.
Minister for Social Welfare, Shri Subhash Phal Dessai proposed the vote of thanks.