Congratulations to Mr. Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco, Hon. MLA Curtorim, from all the Dhirio lovers of Curtorim working in Qatar - Mario F. D' Costa & all his friends from Curtorim. Keep up the good work.
Dhirios will now be legal! HERALD REPORTER Bill passed in House, guidelines to be issued PANJIM, MARCH 24 The Goa legislative assembly on Tuesday night, unanimously passed a bill legalizing dhirio or bullfighting in Goa though with provision for proper guidelines to prevent cruelty to the animals. The house passed the private members bill moved by Congress legislator from Curtorim, Reginaldo Lourenco, which now gives legislative sanction to the traditional sport of bullfighting, which was banned following a directive from the Panjim bench of the Bombay High Court about a decade ago. The legislative sanction however, comes with a rider. Proper guidelines will have to be issued form time to time, to ensure that cruelty to the animals is kept in check, Lourenco said, referring to the existing tradition of bullfighting in certain parts of Tamil Nadu. Intervening in the discussion, Speaker Pratapsing Rane wanted to know whether bullfighting would cause harm to animals. Reginaldo as well as leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar said that there would be proper regulation to ensure safety of animals involved in the sport. Reginaldo, contended that he had moved the bill as after some study he had come to know that the matter falls in the Concurrent List. Proper guidelines would have to be framed to check cruelty to animals involved in the sport. He had moved the bill in the last assembly session. In the bill, he had said that dhirio has been a traditional sport in Goa for many centuries and that it needed to be protected. Stating that authorities have been very strict in restricting the sport on the pretect of implementing the Act, he said this had led to arrest of several promoters and even spectators. Dhirios need to be protected with the mandate that the sport would be organised within the framework of guidelines of the state government. Reginaldo received support from all quarters in the house. Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao, ridiculed the phrase cruelty to animals. He said when human beings work as rickshaw pullers, is it not cruelty? Going a step further, he said milking a cow is also cruelty, which lead to laughter in the house. Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar congratulated Reginaldo for having done a lot of study before moving the bill. However, Home Minister Ravi Naiks suggestion to refer the bill to the Select Committee evoked strong response from members who recommended immediate passing of the bill.Tourism Mickky Pacheco, Urban Development Joaquim Alemao, Victoria Fernandes, Power Mnister, Alexio Sequeira, and others demanded that the bill should be passed today itself. With chief minister giving the nod, the bill was passed by voice vote.Former chief minister and North Goa Member of Parliament Francisco Sardinha had also introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha in February this year, seeking to legalise bullfighting in Goa, which he claimed could help to promote tourism in the State.
