MARGAO
The government has notified that the birth and death anniversaries of the great Goan nationalist Dr Francisco Luis Gomes will be celebrated as State-level functions, beginning from this year.
By a notification issued on March 15, 2024, the government has ordered that May 31 the birth anniversary of Gomes and September 30, his death anniversary will be celebrated as State-level functions. The government has appointed the South Goa district Collector as the nodal department to be responsible for executing the necessary arrangements for the celebrations.
Welcoming the government’s notification, former Chief Minister and president of the Francisco Luis Gomes Memorial Trust, Luizinho Faleiro has thanked Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for fulfilling his assurances he had made when inaugurating the bronze statue of Dr Gomes earlier this year.
He said the notification is a fulfillment of an announcement made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on February 1, 2024 at Navelim, where he unveiled the bronze statue of Dr Gomes, installed by the Francisco Luis Gomes Memorial Trust.
Following the function, Faleiro had written to the chief minister thanking him for gracing the function and unveiling the statue of Dr Gomes. In the letter Faleiro had also appreciated the announcement that the birth and death anniversaries would be celebrated as State-level functions and noted that an early notification of this would allow the Francisco Luis Gomes Memorial Trust to plan this in collaboration with the State government.
In his address at the programme, Faleiro had said that Navelim has a student community of around 10,000 which includes students from a government primary school, two high schools, a higher secondary school and a college, which are all in close vicinity to each other and the spot where the statue of Dr Gomes has been installed and where the memorial is planned.
He also said that they would begin preparations for the functions so that the first one can be a grand celebration.
