'Want to help govt rebuild temples destroyed by Portuguese colonists'

Panaji, April 9 (IANS) Sudin Dhavalikar, a newly inducted minister and the first non-BJP MLA to be a part of the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, on Saturday said he wants to be part of the BJP-led coalition government's vision for rebuilding temples destroyed during the Portuguese colonial era.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, when the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader was administered the oath to office, the former deputy Chief Minister also angled for the Archives and Archaeology ministry, which has been allocated Rs 20 crore specifically for the rebuilding of temples destroyed during the colonial era.

"I had made a statement that three temples broken by the Portuguese have been rebuilt by the devotees and trustees. Wherever there is an empty place where these temples once were, that process should begin," Dhavalikar told reporters.

"Some temples have been relocated. But the places in which the temples have been broken, if there are efforts to rebuild them then it is our duty to help such efforts. This is where there are no other structures at the site. It is our duty to upkeep what has been left by our ancestors," he further said.

"The CM has made a provision of Rs 20 crore in his budget speech. As a Minister I would like to work on this," he also said.

Sawant holds the Archives and Archaeology portfolio, but the chief minister is expected to allocate ministries to the three new ministers, including Dhavalikar, over the next few days.

In his budget speech last month, the Chief Minister had said that restoration of such temples would help the state to bolster its tourism potential.

"Our places of worship are symbols of our rich cultural heritage. At many places in Goa, we find several temples in dilapidated and neglected conditions. During the Portuguese regime, there was a systematic effort to destroy these cultural centres. Considering tourism development, we have made a provision of Rs 20 crore for reconstruction and restoration of these temples and sites," the Chief Minister had said in his budget speech.

Several temples were destroyed in Goa by the Portuguese, who ruled Goa for a period of 451 years, until the region which was a part of the Portuguese Estado da India, was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961.

Several Hindu deities were also secretly smuggled out of Goa by its followers to the neighbouring regions now in present day Karnataka and Maharashtra to escape religious persecution.