Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, in his Mann Ki Baat program, congratulated the organisers of Purple Fest, the national festival for the disabled, held in Goa earlier this month. It will prove to be very effective in realising India’s vision of accessible India, he said.
“My dear countrymen, what comes to your mind when someone talks about the tourist hub Goa? Naturally, as soon as the name of Goa is referred to; first of all, the beautiful coastline, beaches and favourite food items come to mind. But something happened in Goa this month, which is in the headlines. Today in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, I want to share this with all of you. This event happened in Goa — Purple Fest,” Modi said. This fest was organised in Panaji from January 6 to 8 and this was a unique effort in itself for the welfare of divyangs, he said. “For making Purple Fest a success, I congratulate all the people who participated in it. Along with this, I also congratulate those volunteers, who came together to work day and night to organise this event. I have full faith that such campaigns will prove to be very effective in realising our vision of accessible India,” Modi said.
“How big an occasion Purple Fest was, you can all guess from the fact that more than 50,000 brothers and sisters of ours participated in it. The people who came here were thrilled about the fact that they could now enjoy Miramar beach to the fullest. In fact, Miramar beach has become one of the accessible beaches of Goa for our divyang brothers and sisters,” the PM said. Along with a cricket tournament, table tennis tournament, marathon competition, a deaf-blind convention was also organised as part of the Purple Fest, Modi said. “Apart from the unique bird watching programme, a film was also shown here. Special arrangements were made for this, so that all our divyang brothers and sisters and children could enjoy it to the fullest. One special thing about Purple Fest was the participation of the private sector of the country in it. Products which are divyang-friendly were showcased on their behalf.” He said that many efforts were also seen at the fest to raise awareness about the welfare of the divyangs.
Purple Fest was organised by Goa’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that he wants to make the festival an annual event. State commissioner for persons with disabilities Guruprasad Pawaskar said it was a great joy to hear the Prime Minister speak about Purple Fest on Mann Ki Baat. “The fest would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai and all our partners and volunteers,” he said.
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