Goa’s culture is heading in wrong direction in coastal belt: Tawadkar

Panaji: Goa assembly speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar said on Tuesday that he has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Lokotsav at Canacona in Dec. Tawadkar said that Goa culture is heading in the wrong direction as far as the North Goa coastal belt is concerned.
“Looking at the beaches in North Goa, we wonder whether this is Goa at all.The culture of Goa is based in rural areas and that is the true culture,” Tawadkar said. “We have protected the rural culture and it has been recognised across the country.”
Tawadkar along with Union minister of state Shripad Naik and others have met Modi in Delhi. Tawadkar said that Modi has promised to support the initiative.
Through the Shram Dham scheme, Tawadkar said, houses for poor people have been planned across the state. He said schemes should be made simpler so that people living in rural areas can avail themselves of the benefits easily.
The speaker said that a tribal food park should be established in the state so that value is added to rural Goa’s products.
“We have urged the PM to help us in this sector and we will take the measures forward,” Tawadkar said. He said that the film city project which was put on hold due to the election will be discussed and a final decision would be taken.
Tawadkar said that he did not speak on the issue of reservation for the ST community in the assembly election. The community has been demanding reservation of four assembly constituencies for the next election.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Union cabinet cleared the Scheduled Tribes Reservation Bill, paving the way for Goa to have an ST quota for the first time in the assembly.
The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, will now be introduced in Parliament to reserve four seats for the ST community in the 2027 assembly election.