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BELAGAVI
Goa Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar has stated that the Goa government would take up and resolve certain bilateral issues in order to strengthen the age old ties between Belagavi and Goa.
Patnekar, who was in the city on Saturday morning to take part at a public function, was speaking to The Goan.
Mentioning that he has a special affection for Belagavi city, where he has been visiting since the last 25 years, Patnekar said special efforts would be taken up to improve the trade and industry relations, enhancing the transport and communications and also set up a special squad at Chorla ghat to help the accident victims and keep a check on frequent traffic jams there.
“Though I am not a trader and neither an industrialist, I have special concern about the age-old association between Goa and Belagavi which is based on trade and industry.”
“The Goa Government would certainly initiate measures to improve the trading relationships with Goa and this will include a RO-RO service between Vasco and Desur station in Belagavi, where goods vehicles would be directly transported by train,” said Patnekar.
Asked about the heavy traffic jams and rising accidents in Chorla ghats due to traffic diversion and poor policing by Goa police, Patnekar replied, “I will take up the matter with Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and form a special squad in the ghats section to assist vehicles and victims during accidents and also help clear frequent traffic jams since the NH4 A was closed for traffic between Ramnagar and Anmod for road-widening work.”
To a query about the Goa’s contribution in the conservation of Konkani language and Goan culture across the upper ghats region in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the speaker assured measures would be initiated in consultation with Goa’s Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude.
Earlier speaking at a felicitation and scholarship distribution function at the Golden Jubilee Auditorium of the Gogte Institute of Technology, Patnekar lauded the efforts of Shantai Vidyadhar NGO in Belagavi which has been supporting the poor and marginalised students in the region in pursuing their higher education. He also urged students not to leave education halfway as there are social organisations and institutions including the governments who would support them.
The initiative by Shantai Vidyadhar is taken up by selling waste papers (raddi) and raising the funds, which is being carried out since the past six years. “Initiatives like this are certainly laudable and need to be taken up by social organisations everywhere, so that more and more deprived students could be supported,” said Patnekar, adding that these students in turn would support other students.
“The Goa government gives interest-free loans to students pursuing higher education, including the education abroad, where students repay the loan,” he said.
Chairperson of GIT Governing Council Uday Balekundri, Shantai Vidyadhar founder Vijay Patil, former mayor Vijay More, Dr Sonali Sarnobat, Vinay Lokur, principal A S Deshpande and others also spoke on the occasion.
