Mapusa: Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said that this year’s Shiv Jayanti programme will be held in Mapusa at Bodgeshwar ground.
Khaunte, who was addressing the gathering after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day celebration at the government complex, Mapusa, on Monday, said it was not just a day to celebrate the adoption and enforcement of the Indian Constitution, which laid down the founding principles of liberty, equality and fraternity, but also a day to make a commitment to strengthen and build Viksit Bharat.
“The state government is working on the principles of antyodaya and various schemes are being planned to provide benefits to people. Schemes like Viksit Bharat Gramin Yojgar will help generate employment opportunities. The Mhaje Ghar scheme is not about four walls of a house, but it gives assurance to people of peace and security,” he said.
On tourism, Khaunte said Goa is striving to implement responsible tourism policies through regenerative tourism and reforms in policies.
However, issues such as garbage, taxi services and stray cattle menace still persist, and efforts are being made to resolve them with the concerned departments on priority, he added.
“Goa has witnessed an increase in tourist inflow as 1.08 crore tourists have visited the state, which includes five lakh foreign tourists also,” said Khaunte.
He added that despite the increasing number of tourists, the focus must be on attracting quality tourists.
Commenting on the Tuem electronic cluster, Khaunte said that 70 per cent of the companies in the cluster will be operational by 2027, generating employment opportunities for youths and contributing to development.
Bardez Deputy Collector I Varsha Parab, Deputy Collector II Dabholkar Vasant Prasad, Bardez Mamlatdar Anant Malik, SP Wilson D’Souza, Mapusa PI Navin Desai and others were present. During the function, various eminent personalities were felicitated for their contributions.
