NT Staff Reporter

Panaji March 6: The Union Minister of State for Home, Mr Om Prakash Jaiswal will arrive in Goa tomorrow to visit the riot-affected Sanvordem-Curchorem towns. Mr Jaiswal will be accompanied by the Governor, Mr S C Jamir and the Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsingh Rane during his visit to Curchorem.

Communal violence has hit Goa for the first time in its history and the Union government has deputed Mr Jaiswal to visit the riot-affected areas and to give solace to the victims from the minority community. Mr Jaiswal after assessing the damage will submit a report to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

Several members of the minority community had fled Curchorem and the government has started the process to restore normalcy in the strife-torn areas.

Raj Sabha MP from Goa, Mr Shantaram Naik will arrive in Goa to visit the riot-affected towns.

Meanwhile, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry has strongly condemned the loss of property, consequent to looting of shops and burning of vehicles belonging to the trading community in Curchorem and Sanvordem.

The chamber has also objected to the calls for bandhs given by some organisations underlining that the Supreme Court has given a verdict that bandhs were illegal and that the organisations which call for bandhs would be held responsible for compensating loss of property.

A press note issued by the director general of chamber has stated that it also was deeply disturbed over the communal violence in Curchorem and Sanvordem.

Friendship and trust in Goa were the basis of community living, which was not seen in other states in India. This has been advocated as one of the strengths of Goa. However, this incident has badly damaged the image of Goa, the chamber has said.

It has also said that it strongly feels that no one from any community should take the law into their own hands. Any official action has to be taken only by the relevant officials of the government, the press note stated further.

The press note also suppported the Chief Minister’s statement that there will be no restriction on genuine migrants.

It further said that illegal encroachments on government and private lands by migrants and the total failure of government authorities in checking their illegal activities was partly responsible for rising tensions in many parts of Goa.

The Communist Party of India and All India Trade Union Congress today held a dharna to protest against the communal riots in the twin towns of Sanvordem and Curchorem and called upon the people to protect Goa from communal division.

The general secretary of CPI, Mr Christopher Fonseca told reporters at the dharna site this morning that the incident which took place in the presence of the political leaders exhibited the extent of degradation of the values and also the demoralisation and stark alienation of the political leadership from the people.

He said the secular fabric of Goa has always been vibrant and we would like to strengthen and make it durable and ensure that communal forces do not raise their ugly heads.

The general secretary of state Nationalist Congress Party, Mr Shaikh Mohammad Iqbal has urged the Deputy Chief Minister and the Goa NCP chief, Dr Wilfred de Souza to take stringent action against the persons involved in the riots and looting in Sanvordem.

In a memorandum addressed to Dr de Souza he said Goa had never been witness to such act of communalism and violence. Even the outsiders too have respect and good feelings towards Goa.

Mr Iqbal further added that the Sanvordem incident is an attack on social fabric of Goan society which is known for its open mindedness and secular attitude be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

The state NCP vice-president, Mr Jose Philip D’Souza said that it was very distressing to hear about the violence and disturbance, which occurred in Sanvordem and Curchorem in the last couple of days.

In a release, Mr D’Souza said the communal forces in the state are trying to disturb the peace and secular fabric by inciting the people on religious grounds and spreading mis-information and hatred among the people with false propaganda.

At a meeting convened by the Islami Jamia Masjid Canacona the local Hindus and Muslims strongly condemned the incidents of riot in Sanvordem.

The concerned citizens meeting organised at T B Cunha hall, here, this evening expressed serious concerns over the communal forces raising their ugly heads in the harmonious state and suggested a people’s movement to defeat the sinister design of these forces.

The meeting was chaired by Ms Maria Aurora Couto, where several speakers expressed their views. Mr Albano Couto suggested a peace march in the riot-affected areas so as to regain confidence in some families of the minority community who had fled from the riot-torn areas.

Dr Oscar Rebello suggested that we have to have only one point duty to preserve communal harmony and counter the fascist forces who are hell bend to destroy the communal harmony in Goa.

Well-known Goan singer, Ulhas Buyao said that the seeds of the communal hatred are rooted in the language controversy and held the opposition as well as ruling party responsible for the Sanvordem riots.

Hotelier, Ms Anju Timblo said that communal harmony was the strongest facet of Goa and it was duty of every Goan to save this facet.

The others who spoke were: Ms Prashanti Talpankar, Mr Floriano Vaz, Mr Rui Fereirra, Ms Sabina Martins, Mr Minguel Braganza, Mr Tomajinho Cardozo, Mr Pandurang Kunkolienkar, Dr Lesly Saldanha, Mr Amrut Kansar, Fr Pratap Naik, Mr Sanket Pai, Ms Yasmin and others.