The 39th Goa Statehood Day was celebrated with a vibrant state-level function at Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir, Kala Academy, Panaji on Friday, 30th May.
The event was graced by Chief Minister, Dr. Pramod Sawant, Minister for Protocol, Mauvin Godinho, Minister for Social Welfare, Subhash Phal Dessai, WRD Minister, Subhash Shirodkar, Power Minister, Sudin Dhavalikar, Revenue Minister, Atanasio Monserrate, Minister for Tourism, Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Fisheries, Nilkant Halarnkar, Art and Culture Minister, Govind Gaude, Dy. Speaker, Joshua De Souza, Jt. Secretary Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, Archana Awasthi, IRS, Chief Secretary, Dr. V.Candavelou, IAS, among others.
The Chief Minister distributed sponsor letters under Children of Freedom Fighters Scheme of Home Department and sponsor letters under Compassionate Scheme of Personnel Department to the beneficiaries.
Dr. Sawant released three books, ‘Temples of Goa’, ‘Gomantkiya Durganchya Vatevar’ and ‘Vikas Path: Goa’s Journey of Reform and Renewal’. He also inaugurated photo exhibition ‘Goa-Then and Now’, showcasing some of the rare photos related to Goa’s Statehood.
On the occasion, Goa was declared as a fully-literate state under ‘ULLHAS’ Literacy programme of the Government of India. Later addressing a press briefing, Dr Sawant praised the team effort for achieving the Literacy target and emphasised that Goa’s happiness index will be boosted by this feat under the new India Literacy Program.
The Chief Minister felicitated 10 Iconic brands of Goa on the occasion; for their contribution towards the economic growth of the state and for preserving Goa’s identity. The brands are as follows: BigFoot, Loutolim, Café Tato, Panaji, Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao, Paul John Distilleries, Cuncolim, Zantye Cashew, Bicholim, Dangui Optician, Mapusa, Mauzo Photo Studio, Margao, Dr Carmo Gracias Hospital, Margao, Titos, Baga and Sagar Naik Mule, Ponda.
The Chief Minister presented Bhasha Puraskar for the last three years i.e. 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. The 2022-2023 ‘Dnyanpeeth Awardee Ravindra Kelekar Konkani Bhasha Puraskar’ was awarded to Manikrao Ram Nayak Gaunekar, for the year 2023-2024, the award went to Suresh Ramchandra Pai and for the year 2024-2025 the award went to Bhiku Bomi Naik.
The 2022-2023 ‘B. D. Satoskar Marathi Bhasha Puraskar’ was awarded to Shambhu Bhau Bandekar and for the year, 2023-2024 the award went to Anil Gajanan Samant and for the year 2024-2025, the award went to Ramesh D. Onskar.
Dr. Sawant felicitated five Government Departments for following Best Practices on Governance. Departments/bodies namely, Department of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation for their work on Swayampurna Goa initiative, Goa Waste Management Corporation for their waste management initiatives, Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities for their overall work related to Persons with Disabilities, Department of Rural Development for active engagement and work for the betterment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Department of Panchayat for ‘wealth out of waste’ initiative, Chicalim.
Dr. Sawant also felicitated Swayampurna villages and Swayampurna Mitras on the occasion for their efforts towards making the State self-reliant.
The Chief Minister launched web series ‘Bharat Hai Hum’ of the Department of Archives, on the occasion.
