Staff Reporter
Panaji
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the government is ready to reconstruct Porvorim’s Dev Khapreshwar temple at a location decided by either a committee or the devotees.
The temple was recently demolished under strong opposition by locals and devotees to facilitate the construction of the elevated corridor at Porvorim.
Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte, along with panchayat members, met the Chief Minister and assured the public that the temple would be rebuilt within the original boundaries of Socorro. “We have asked the ‘gramasth’ (villagers) to finalise the location. Once that is done, we will coordinate with the Public Works Department (PWD) to begin construction as soon as possible,” Khaunte said.
He said that the issue was being unnecessarily politicised and that the reconstruction would proceed based on the consent of the devotees.
Khaunte said that the flyover construction plans had been shared with the public beforehand. “The plan was finalised, and the community had the opportunity to review it. Everyone had signed consent papers before work began. If concerns or changes were needed, they should have been raised earlier. During the removal of the chapel and the church wall, there was no opposition, but now some people are raising issues,” he said.
He further said that the banyan tree currently placed at Guirim would continue to be worshipped, and a new banyan tree would be planted near the reconstructed Khapreshwar Temple.
The decision followed demands from devotees who met Socorro Sarpanch Sonia Pednekar, requesting that the temple be rebuilt within its original boundary in Ximer. The devotees sought urgent government intervention to expedite the reconstruction.
The Socorro panchayat had also assured devotees that the proposal would be presented to MLA Rohan Khaunte. They reiterated their stance that the temple idol should remain within the Socorro panchayat’s
jurisdiction.
