Goa to Celebrate 46th Liberation Day tomorrow

Panaji, Dec 18 (UNI) Goa is all set to celebrate the 46th anniversary of its Liberation tomorrow.

Chief Minister Pratapsin-Rane will unfurl the national flag, inspect a colourful parade at the Campal Grounds in the capital and later present awards to some people for their outstanding and dedicated services to the state before addressing the gathering in the morning.

As part of the celebrations, students of different schools will present pageantry besides displaying cultural floats, mass drill and singing songs with theme of national integration.

The function will be attended among others by the Legislative Assembly Speaker Francisco Sardinha, Deputy Speaker Ms Victoria Fernandes, Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar and Cabinet Ministers.

Power Minister Digambar Kamat will unfurl the national flag at a function to be held at Margao while Panchayat Minister Subhash Shirodkar will follow suit at Kranti Maidan, Ponda.

Governor S C Jamir will host a reception on the lawns of Raj Bhavan in the evening.

On the eve of the Liberation Day, the Governor appealed the people of Goa to continue maintaining peace and harmony and make best efforts with renewed enthusiasm and spirit of co-operation to achieve a much higher rate of progress and prosperity.

Extending his warm greetings and best wishes to the people, the Governor said Goa Liberation Day was an appropriate occasion to pay tribute to all those who made supreme sacrifice for the liberation of Goa from the centuries old Portuguese colonial yoke.

The Governor also recalled the progress achieved by Goa during the last 45 years since its liberation this day in 1961. This included Konkani getting recognition as the official language, Goa attaining statehood and achieving giant strides in socio-economic and cultural sectors.

''Today, Goa is one of the most promising and progressive states in our country, making rapid strides in all spheres of life due to perseverance and determined efforts made by the people. More importantly, Goa is unique in maintaining peace and social harmony,'' he said.

This unique social set-up and the God-gifted natural beauty made Goa a world class tourist destination with so much potential. The state, he said, could emerge as a model for India and the world.

''Protection of the natural environment is equally important to achieve sustainable development, especially in the tourism sector. We need to reduce, if not eradicate, unemployment, which can otherwise be a cause for undesirable social tension,'' the Governor said.

''Our educated youth should be motivated to take up self-employment ventures depending upon their educational background and skills. Educationally, Goa is among the front-ranking States but we need to improve further the quality of education in keeping with the emerging modern global trends of life so that our youth will competently compete with their counterparts from any where,'' the Governor observed.

Though Goa had been a peaceful state, we should not remain complacent and allow this beautiful to become a place for anti-national and fissiparous forces to raise their ugly heads, he said.

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