the goan I network
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant took a conciliatory tone in his Liberation Day address at the parade grounds in the capital even as he touched on the controversial Mhadei water sharing issue calling the river “my mother” and fixed 2022 as the year for completing construction of the greenfield Mopa International aiport.
“This lifeline belongs to Goa and will always be with us,” Sawant said even as he assured that the Mopa airport will be completed by 2022.
Appealing to Goans to join hands in the mission to take Goa forward and make it an economically developed State, Sawant urged for unity and advised the populace not to fall prey to misleading statements.
Sawant, also recalled martyrs and freedom fighters who contributed to earn Goa freedom from the Portuguese.
Dr Sawant urged the peace-loving Goans to remain faithful to the socio-cultural ethos of the land and thanked their ancestors who struggled to retain it through thick and thin in the past when foreign rulers reined the region.
“Our ancestors and the freedom fighters from Goa as well as India fought for the rights of the people of this region and even laid down their lives, to finally liberate them from foreign hands, though it took them 14 years after the freedom of India in 1947, they successfully connected this small State to greater India,” stated chief minister.
“The people of this fertile land always stood together firmly in the era that’s long gone and I am sure they will stand together hand in hand even during current times when social, political and economic situations are posing challenges before us. We must strive hard to retain this bond of closeness and togetherness among the various communities in Goa,” said Dr Sawant.
Assuring to solve the issue of allotting jobs to the kith and kin of freedom fighters, the chief minister underlined the need to do so on an urgent basis and said it should be done within the framework of law.
He called on the people from all walks of life to come forward and join hands to nurture the nature of this beautiful land. “The intellectuals, engineers, doctors, architects, teachers and artists, must co-operate and contribute to make Goa an ideal State,” convincing that his govt has been working with the motto, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ for the past nine months, promising to do his best to solve the crucial issues that this State is facing.
