Goa aiming to refurbish damaged temples of Portuguese era

Published on : Tuesday, May 24, 2022

The Chief Minister of Goa PramodSawantstated that therefurbishment of many temples that were destroyed during the Portuguese colonial era will help Goa to uphold its cultural and spiritual tourism to both domestic and foreign tourists.

Sawant said that the ‘sun, sand and sea’ concept will be synonymous with tourism in Goa, but besides all these,Goa is now focusing to promote cultural tourism, hinterland tourism, along with spiritual tourism. The CM said this during the ‘Media Mahamanthan’ programme held in Delhi.

Sawanthad allocated Rs. 20 crore for the renovation of temples that weredestroyed during the Portuguese colonial period.

He said that along with beach tourism, other aspects of tourism in Goa will be explored in the coming days.

Sawantstressed the fact thatrebuilding of such ancient temples would help Goa improve its tourism prospective, attracting more tourists to the state.

Many temples were damaged in Goa by the Portuguese, who reigned in Goa for an extreme long period of 451 years. The region which was a part of the Portuguese’s Estado da India was freed by the Indian armed forces in 1961.

The opposition and a unit of civil society have criticized the ruling government’s drive to refurbish such temples, and alleged that the ruling partyis trying to create a communal rift between Hindus and Catholics in Goa.