Goa minister hopes for miracle for cancer-stricken Parrikar

PANAJI: Goa’s Power Minister Nilesh Cabral on Sunday said he hoped for a miracle for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has been battling cancer for several months.

“We only hope that he recovers fast, a miracle happens and that he leads us in the future. That is all we ask (for),” Cabral told reporters here, soon after Parrikar returned from New Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Parrikar arrived in Goa by a special flight and headed straight to his private residence, near Panaji, where a government-operated ambulance and a medical crew were kept on a stand-by.

The former Union Defence Minister was ferried, under a police escort, by an ambulance from the airport and was taken inside his residence with the help of a stretcher.

Speaking to the media ahead of Parrikar’s arrival in Goa, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said: “I have got the news. I still cannot believe it. I met him day before yesterday. His health has improved over last 15 days but I feel he should stay there for a few days more”.

Naik also said that it was imperative that Parrikar takes adequate rest as part of his healing process after being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer.

“After he returns, I will meet and speak to him. He must have returned (to Goa) because the last chemotherapy must have been administered. He can take future treatment in Goa.”