Mapusa: Hundreds of people on Friday paid homage to former deputy chief minister Francis D’Souza, at his residence in Mapusa, where his body lay in state.A stream of mourners, including politicians of all hues, filed past D’Souza’s body throughout the day. His body was brought home on Thursday night from the hospital at Old Goa where the Mapusa MLA, who had been suffering from cancer, passed away.Prominent among the lawmakers who visited D’Souza’s home were speaker Pramod Sawant, TCP minister and Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai, deputy speaker Michael Lobo, art and culture minister Govind Gaude, Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserrate, and Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha.Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar, and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) president Pandurang Dhavalikar, also paid tributes to the deceased MLA.The others who visited D’Souza’s residence were former Union law minister Ramakant Khalap, ex-Benaulim MLA Caetano Silva, former fisheries minister Avertano Furtado, former Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes,ex- St Cruz MLA Victor Gonsalves, chairperson of Mapusa Municipal Council Ryan Braganza, and several functionaries of political outfits.Many priests and nuns also paid condolence visits.Elaborate traffic arrangements were also made by the police to ensure that the visits proceeded smoothly.Lobo, who, like D’Souza is a minority MLA representing the neighbouring Calangute constituency, said the late Mapusa legislator had touched a lot of people in Goa. “His is a very big loss to the state. He showed that even minorities have got a place in BJP,” he said, adding, “To me, he was instrumental because he took me to the BJP office and got me enrolled there.”Erstwhile fisheries minister, Furtado, said D’Souza was a person once could trust at all time, a sentiment that art and culture minister Gaude, echoed. “He gave patient hearings and made time for the people. He also understood the sorrows of the people. Before I became an MLA, he supported me in several andolans (protests). We have lost a great person and a great leader,” Gaude said.“We are really going to miss him because there can never be a politician like him. In fact, to get a person like Francis D’Souza is really very difficult,” Caetano Silva, who had earlier represented Benaulim constituency, said.MGP president Pandurang Dhavalikar said D’Souza’s work would be missed. “We are with the family and we pray for peace for them. We have lost a good leader and will always remember him,” he added.The Mapusa MLA’s health is believed to have deteriorated in March 2017. Despite it, however, he continued his active public life. D’Souza was also a diabetic, a condition that affected his kidneys and saw him undergo a kidney transplant last year.A little later, in August, he was detected with cancer. He underwent treatment for the disease for several weeks in a hospital in the US.

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