the goan I network
MARGAO
With just two days to go for the commemoration of 18th June Day, Lohia Chowk, named after the great nationalist Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and his friend Dr Juliao Menezes, lies in shambles.
While the district Collectorate is leaving no stone unturned to put things in order at Lohia Maidan, Margao, which will play host to the official programme on Sunday, no agency is drafted for the job of sprucing up the Lohia Chowk at Assolna.
When The Goan team visited Assolna on Friday, the historic place is craving for attention. Leave alone the entire Chowk, the memorial tucked at a corner of the Chowk is craving for attention. A stray dog was sleeping within the precincts of the memorial, while grass has overgrown all round the memorial. That the memorial is a neglected lot was evident by the fact that the damaged tiles have not been repaired and replaced till date. Going by the state of affairs, it is quite evident that the memorial has not received a coat of paint in recent times for reasons best known to the district authorities.
Unlike previous years, there’s no elected panchayat body in place and the panchas elect will take charge of the Assolna panchayat only on Monday “ a day after the commemoration of 18th June on Sunday. It’s still isn’t clear whether any authority, other than the local panchayat body, will intervene and spruce up the memorial ahead of Goa Revolution Day.
Sources said the memorial has been a neglected lot over the years, primarily because no authority has been entrusted with the responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the Chowk. While the local panchayat body had been maintaining that the district authorities have not given the local body the responsibility of maintenance, the district authorities in turn have not moved with alacrity to take a firm call on the Lohia Chowk memorial.
The Chowk was named after Dr Ram Manohar Lohia after he was invited by his Goan friend, Dr Juliao Menezes at his house at Assolna to discuss the freedom struggle and give a boost to Goa’s liberation movement. After coming down to the house of Dr Menezes at Assolna, the duo then made their presence felt along with other freedom fighters the next day at Margao, where Dr Lohia gave a clarion call to Goans to liberate themselves from the Portuguese yoke.
Social activist and president of the Cuncolim Chieftains memorial committee Oscar Martins lamented that successive governments have only paid lip service to the need to maintain the Lohia Chowk memorial. “It is high time the government and the district authorities put in a place a plan of action to spruce up the place befitting the historical importance,” Oscar said.
