MARGAO
The historic maidan named after the great nationalist Dr Ram Manohar Lohia symbolizes free speech and expression. It was from this very place that Dr Lohia along with Dr Juliao Menezes gave a call to Goans on June 18, 1946, for the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese regime.
Since then, the Lohia Maidan has become synonymous with social and political movements in the post-liberation era spanning over 60 years. The maidan must have played host to hundreds, if not thousands of socio-cultural and political meetings and rallies over the decades, giving a platform for social activists and political players to voice their agenda and ideology.
Beautification work on the Lohia Maidan has thrown up a question or two “ whether the maidan will be decked up before Goa Liberation Day on December 19, and whether the venue will be thrown open for citizens, political parties and candidates in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly polls.
If freedom fighters and the 18th June Kranti Samiti have been anxiously waiting to know whether the Lohia maidan will be available to celebrate the ensuing Liberation Day on December 19, the same question has come to haunt the citizens and politicos alike, eager to know whether Lohia Maidan will be available for political rallies and meetings this time around.
A visit to the Lohia Maidan on Monday has revealed that the civil work is underway inside the sprawling grounds. A group of labourers were preoccupied with the concreting work, executing the work as per the approved plan and design.
A close look at the ongoing works has raised a pertinent question “ whether the historic maidan will be beautified in all respects for the Liberation Day celebration on December 19.
Just a month to go for the Liberation Day celebration, the ongoing pace of work has cast doubts that the maidan will be handed over to the 18th June Kranti Samiti or the Margao Municipal Council for upkeep and maintenance before Liberation Day.
That’s not all. The same question may come to haunt citizens and political parties as well “ whether beautification work on the Maidan will be completed before the ensuing Assembly polls scheduled around February 2022.
When this question was posed to Director of Urban Development Gurudas Pilarnekar since the project is being executed by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA), he wasn’t clear whether the Lohia Maidan will be ready for Liberation Day celebrations on December 19.
He also could not give a firm assurance that the maidan will be available for political rallies and meetings in the run-up to the 2022 electoral battle, other than saying that GSUDA will be asked to cap the work on the project at the earliest.
“We will try and complete work on the project at the earliest, latest by December-end. I will review with the contractor the progress of work at the Lohia Maidan,” he said.
Lohia Maidan’s beautification work was mired in controversy since day one. Though the project was tendered around two years ago, the work order was not issued for quite some time, even prompting then-governor Satya Pal Mallik to personally come down to pay respects to Dr Lohia and hand over a promise to the freedom fighters to take up the issue with the government.
The maidan was once again in the news when the actual work had commenced a couple of months ago, with the opposition gunning the government and the contractor for showing disrespect to Lohia’s statue and for abandoning the freedom fighter’s memorial in the construction debris before the authorities intervened and directed the contractor to secure the statue and the memorial at a safe place.
