Installations of life-sized animals such as bison, horse, rooster, and so on, besides images of large heads have been placed in various city locations, right from Altinho to Miramar. However, they have failed to generate appreciation from the citizens in general.

City mayor Surendra Furtado said the GSIDC had sought NOCs from the Corporation of the City of Panaji for placing these installations, without revealing their details.

“It subsequently received the area-wise NOCs during the tenure of former CCP commissioner Dipak Desai,” he added, maintain that the CCP has absolutely no role in this project.

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Shantaram Naik, who during his tenure as the Rajya Sabha MP, had made available funds under the MPLAD scheme for converting the Salvador Souza garden into rose garden stated that the work for the same had already started, and he had visited the garden on three occasions to supervise the work.

“However, I have no idea when the plan to develop the place into a rose garden was dropped,” he added.

The city mayor, who had laid the foundation stone for the development of the rose garden, stated that the GSIDC has now taken over the project and that the CCP has been kept in total darkness over the project.

Incidentally, former city MLA Sidharth Kunkalienkar, who is also the vice-chairman of the GSIDC, has some time ago informed that Salvador Souza garden would now include a small memorial as a tribute to those who had laid down their lives during the Pinto Revolt against Portuguese rule in Goa in 1787.

He had also maintained that plans of developing a rose garden had been dropped as the city does not provide adequate environment to growth of roses.

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