PANAJI
Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, as part of 'Goa Sampurna Yatra', on Saturday visited the historical and prominent places in Sanguem taluka and interacted with locals.
During his day-long tour, the Governor, who visited the ancient stone carving at Rivona village, evinced keen interest in knowing about the rich cultural heritage, flora and fauna in the remote area.
Eminent Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar informed the importance of stone carvings discovered at Rivona and stressed the need to conserve and preserve such heritage.
The locals informed Governor Pillai about the hurdles faced to construct the road towards the stone carving site and requested his intervention to resolve the issues related to the protection of the site, although the site has been identified by the State Archaeological Department.
Pillai expressed his wish to write a book on ancient stone carvings discovered at Rivona and other cultural heritage sites found in the area and explore its importance in the national and international arena.
Governor Pillai also visited Uguem panchayat and interacted with sarpanch and panch members of Uguem, Curdi and Bhati panchayats. He gave a patient ear to the grievances and issues placed by the sarpanch and panch members of respective panchayats.
The people brought to the notice of the Governor about insufficient water supply in the three panchayat areas and also the unresolved issue of rehabilitation of the Salaulim Dam project, which has been pending for the last 38 years.
Locals also insisted on the speedy revival of the mining industry as a larger population in Sanguem taluka are dependent on the sector. People also demanded the installation of internet facilities for better connectivity to enable their students to attend online classes.
Governor Pillai assured prompt redressal of the issues and problems raised by the local bodies. He said that all the demands and issues will be put forward to the concerned government departments as soon as a new government is formed in the State.
The Governor further said that he is mesmerized by seeing the natural beauty, cultural heritage and historical monuments in the taluka and underscored the need for implementation of eco-tourism initiatives for sustainable growth of villages.
The Governor, along with the first lady Rita Sreedharan, started the tour by offering prayers and seeking blessings of Lord Shree Damodar at Zambaulim for the betterment of the State.
The Governor also visited Salaulim dam and Netravali lake.
Sarpanch of Uguem panchayat Uday Dessai, Deputy sarpanch Bharati Naik, sarpanch of Bhati Uday Naik, sarpanch of Curdi Domancio Barretto and all panch members of the three panchayats were present at the interaction held with the Governor.
Secretary to Governor R Mihir Vardhan, ADC to Governor Vishram Borkar, Lt Darshan Ningaraj Sankarraddi, Addl Collector III South Prashant Shirodkar, Sanguem Deputy Collector Pandurang Talgaonkar, Mamlatdar Rajesh Sakhalkar and other officers were present at the occasion.
