NT NETWORK

PANAJI

Prayers at the city temple, blood donation programme and the inauguration of a renovated city garden will mark the birthday of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on December 13, albeit in his absence.

Parrikar, who turns 63 on Thursday, is suffering from pancreatic cancer and has been recuperating at his residence for exactly past two months, since his return to Goa from the Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he was being treated for the same.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has organised prayers at the Mahalaxmi temple for the well being of the Chief Minister, at 9 am on Thursday. It will be followed by a blood donation camp at the city headquarters of the party from 9.30 am to 12 noon. A team of doctors

from the Goa Medical College Hospital will supervise the blood donation, with around 200 people expected to donate blood.

Later in the evening, at 5.30 pm, Minister for Urban Development, Social Welfare and Provedoria Milind Naik will inaugurate the newly renovated Rose Garden located along the Mahatma Gandhi Road and dedicate it to the city of Panaji. The beautification and landscaping of this garden has been carried out by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC).

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Vinay Tendulkar, GSIDC chairperson and vice chairperson namely Deepak Pauskar and Sidharth Kunkalienkar and city Mayor Vitthal Chopdekar will be present on the occasion.

It is learnt that the Chief Minister will celebrate his birthday at his residence, in the company of his family members, in a simple way.