Panaji, Dec 18 (IANS): Despite communal upheaval in the erstwhile Portuguese colonial regime, Goa is now known for communal harmony, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha said in her address to the state on the eve of Goa Liberation Day.

Sinha said she is working out modalities to throw open the Raj Bhavan, a 16th century structure, to the public from January next year.

"Though Goan society had to face communal upheaval in the wake of Portuguese colonial policies, today Goa enjoys peace despite communal diversity... This demonstrates that strong religious identities and communal harmony can co-exist," Sinha said in her address.

Goa was a Portuguese colony for 451 years, until the Indian armed forces liberated the coastal state from colonial yoke on December 19, 1961.

"Raj Bhavan will be made open to public with effect from first week of January 2019. It will offer to every individual, who has never been to Raj Bhavan but wishes to see it, an opportunity to enjoy the mesmerising beauty of Raj Bhavan... The modalities of access will be made public very shortly by my office," she said.

The iconic structure was first constructed as a chapel and later served as a fortress as well as a monastery.