the goan I network
PANAJI
Former chief minister the late Manohar Parrikar continues to make headlines a year after his death with as much regularity as when he lived and dominated the political space for reasons both positive and negative as well.
On Monday, coincidentally the eve of his first death anniversary, came the news that the location of the site where the Goa government is building a memorial for Parrikar -- the sands of Miramar beach -- has been challenged by senior journalist Devika Sequeira-Shetty in a PIL before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court.
Coincidentally on the same day, news that a book penned by two other Goa-based senior journalists -- Mayabhushan Nagvenkar and Sadguru Patil -- had penned a biographical book on Parrikar and his ‘extraordinary life’ made national headlines through news portals. The book is being published by the prestigious Penguin Random House, and is expected to hit the stands in April.
On Monday, the eve of his first death anniversary, Parrikar’s name cropped up in a public interest litigation which was taken up by the Bombay High Court at Goa wherein a senior journalist Devika Sequeira-Shetty has questioned the legality of permitting construction of a memorial on the sands of the Miramar beach.
Sequeira-Shetty, however, clarified that her action of
filing the PIL had nothing to do with her journalism or professional life.
“As a citizen and someone who has been born and lived in this city (Panjim) my entire life I feel very strongly about the government’s decision to build another memorial on Miramar beach,” Sequeira-Shetty said, adding that the capital city’s shoreline is part of public heritage and politicians who have no attachment to it are making a claim on it.
Sequeira-Shetty who worked in several newspapers, local and national, as a senior journalist in Goa over four decades said: “I’m sure many other residents feel the same but no one has come forward to challenge the government, leaving me with not choice but to file the PIL myself.”
