Vice President Naidu calls for efforts to transform India into 'prosperous nation'

Highlighting the imperative need to initiate efforts to transform India into a prosperous nation, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged the people to actively participate in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programme started by the Union Government.

Inaugurating the newly constructed prestigious Durbar Hall at Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula village today, Naidu said the involvement of people in the programme such as Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav will help build momentum and bring in necessary reforms in varied sectors.

He said, "Even after seven and half decades of India's Independence, our country is still facing some challenges in the areas of poverty, illiteracy, regional disparities, social discrimination in certain areas and also gender discrimination. We need to remove these social evils and initiate steps to eradicate illiteracy. The people should come forward and focus to accord importance to these aspects."

The inaugural ceremony was graced by the Governor of Goa, PS Sreedharan Pillai and other dignitaries.

The Vice-President who began his speech in the Konkani language further said that he was following the progress of this magnificent project during his visits to Goa.

He said the construction of this building reflects the Goan architecture and that he was very happy to inaugurate the Durbar Hall which is the second-largest hall in Goa after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium.

Naidu said Goa is endowed with scenic beauty coupled with cultural and linguistic diversity, scenic splendour and hospitality. Apart from being Goa an international tourist destination, it can also boast of its Uniform Civil Code besides extensive forest cover, he added.

Stating that India is a great example for the rest of the world in terms of Democracy, the Vice-President stressed the need to respect the institutions else it will weaken the Democracy.

"We need to maintain dignity and moral ethics in public life and should also have the patience to respect the mandate of the people. We must follow the ethics, do justice and not indulge in any agitations, violations which may result to break the laws of the Constitution," he stated.

The Vice-President said the post-independence period India has made remarkable progress in various fields, be it rail and air connectivity.

"We should not remain complacent over our achievements but should endeavour to make our country prosperous. He also emphasized the need for universal peace and added saying that we should not resort to violence. If we have tension then we will not able to pay attention," he asserted.

Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai, in his address, said that the idea to construct this Durbar Hall was conceived in March 2019. In fact, he said it was the bold initiative of the previous Governor of Goa, late Mridula Sinha.

He also reminded the gathering about the contribution of the former Chief Minister of Goa late Manohar Parrikar and also of the present Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant for support towards the completion of the project.

The Governor who referred to his ongoing visits to the villages of the State said that Goan villages are more beautiful than beaches of the State. This prestigious building of Durbar Hall will set a new milestone for the development of the State and the wellbeing of the people, he said.

The Governor stressed political, social and economic freedom. Our freedom fighters fought to attain these aspects. However, we succeeded in achieving only political freedom and not social and economic freedom, Naidu added.

Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, IAS who informed about the salient features of the project said that the construction of Durbar Hall has been completed two months prior to the stipulated date of completion.

He said the project has a seating capacity of 600 persons with a total plinth area of 2200 sq meters and the project cost of the Durbar Hall is Rs 18 crores.

( With inputs from ANI )