Church exhorts faithful to pray for Goa CM Manohar Parrikar’s good health

PANAJI: Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has finalised his budget that will be tabled in the assembly on Thursday, chief secretary Dharmendra Sharma told TOI from Mumbai on Tuesday.
“The chief minister has completed the entire budget exercise. He is comfortable and relaxed. He is in very good spirits,” Sharma, who spent half an hour with Parrikar at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, said. “He is expected to be back in Goa shortly,” he said, adding his return would be as per the advice of his doctors.

Sharma said he discussed the budget transactions with Parrikar. “I have taken various instructions from the chief minister regarding the budget and on the functioning of the government,” he said. Parrikar, who is undergoing treatment for pancreatitis at Lilavati Hospital, has authorised PWD minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar, who was appointed as the leader of the House in Parrikar’s absence, to table the budget.

After the budget is tabled, the government will take a vote-on-account for five months. The discussion on the budget will take place during the next assembly session, which is likely in June or July. Meanwhile, people from all faiths and beliefs have begun participating in mass prayer services at various places for Parrikar’s speedy recovery. While special pujas and yagyas were held in several temples on Tuesday, Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao also prayed for the chief minister’s health.

“Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, sharing the genuine concern of the population of this state, prays for the fast recovery of our ailing chief minister Manohar Parrikar and appeals to the Catholic community to raise fervent prayers for the good health of the head of the government in this state,” the Church said in a statement.

In Vasco, people thronged the Shree Damodar Temple since early morning for the Shree Satyanarayan mahapooja organised by the United Taximen Union. MLAs Carlos Almeida and Milind Naik, South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar, NCP state president Jose Philip D'Souza and others were also seen offering prayers at the temple.

Sawaikar said “these prayers show that Goans want Parrikar to be with them. He is loved by all”, even as he reassured those gathered that the chief minister was “responding well to the treatment”. The president of the taximen union, Sanjay Naik, said, “Parrikar is a good leader who understands everybody’s problems and reaches out to all. We want him back in Goa.”

The union has urged all to join them and pray for Parrikar’s health. In Gogol, Margao, a mahamrutyunjaya japa was organised at the Shree Sankat Bhanjan Hanuman temple, where hundreds of people participated in the prayers.

The ‘mahamrutyunjaya mantra’ from Rig Veda is considered to be a prayer for good health and long life. Non-stop recitals of the mantra from 6am to 7pm by priests accompanied by yagya rituals marked the occasion. Durgadas Prabhu, who took the initiative to organise the prayer session, said nearly 600-700 people participated in the prayers. A mahamrutyunjaya japa was also held at Hanuman temple at Dhavem, Sattari.