CM: Old Goa seeing visible change in spiritual tourism

Says Koti Tirth project at Diwar will begin soon

Special Correspondent

Panaji: Stating that Old Goa is witnessing a visible change in spiritual tourism, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said that the place, once known mainly for its churches, is now also being recognised for temples and a math in the surrounding areas, describing the development as a significant change.

“Earlier, people used to visit Old Goa mainly to see churches, but now people come to visit the Narendra Maharaj Math and take darshan of Goveshwar, which reflects the change,” he said.

Speaking further, Sawant also reiterated that the state government will soon begin construction of the Koti Tirth Project at Diwar where a huge temple will be constructed as a representative place of worship dedicated to the 1,000-odd temples that were demolished by the Portuguese. 

“We want to create a Sanatani and spiritual next generation,” he said, pointing out that although the new generation is referred to as Gen Z, they also need to understand Sanatan Dharma and our culture. Sawant was speaking at the ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv 2006’ event organised by the Directorate of Art and Culture at Bainguinim, Old Goa.

Union Minister Shripad Naik, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rajesh Phaldesai and Director of Art and Culture Vivek Naik were present on the occasion.

Maintaining that following the BJP government’s rise to power there has been much improvement in the country as regards religion and culture, the Chief Minister said that all the previous governments failed to protect the Hindu religion.

He also said that the state BJP governments assisted in the construction of new temples, including the Mahalasa Narayani temple at Verna.

Sawant noted that during the Portuguese regime, many Hindu families had to migrate to other regions to protect their religion.