Panaji, Sep 4 (IANS): The Goa government on Saturday put to rest speculation over a missing statue of freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia from the Lohia maidan in South Goa's Margao town.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Goa State Urban Development Agency, the government agency in-charge of the renovation of the Lohia maidan, said that the statue had been "carefully dismantled" and is in safe custody.

"Goa State Urban Development Agency has informed the general public that the work of 'beautification of Lohia Maidan at Margao, Goa is taken up by GSUDA. The GSUDA has covered the dismantled statue properly and kept it in the godown in safe custody," the agency said in a statement, a day after Leader of Opposition and local Congress MLA Digambar Kamat expressed surprise over the missing statue.

"On my visit to Lohia maidan now, shocked to note that the Statue of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia & Martyrs Memorial are Missing. I demand @goacm must take note of it & ensure that they are traced & secured. This exposes @BJP4India has no respect for Freedom Fighters & their Families," Kamat had tweeted, causing a stir.

The UP-born socialist leader Lohia is significant to Goa's freedom struggle, because it was his clarion call for freedom of the former Potuguese colony on June 18, 1946, that lent urgency and impetus to Goa's struggle for independence following more than four centuries of foreign rule. As a result of his initiative against colonial rule, June 18 in Goa is remembered as the day of the revolution.

One of Goa's oldest prison buildings, the 17th century Aguada fort, which is currently being refurbished, will also feature a statue of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia when it is unveiled on August 15 this year.