Mining cos object to NEERI report

BY A GT REPORTER

PANJIM, JULY 21: Two of the three mining companies operating in Sirigao filed their reply as objection on the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) report that claimed the mining activities were depleting the water table of the village, in the Bombay High Court at Goa.

The division bench comprising Justices S B Deshmukh and U D Salvi has adjourned the matter and posted it four weeks later, to study the mining companies' replies to the NEERI report.

The High Court had in June 2008, appointed NEERI to conduct a survey and determine the consequences of mining activities on water resources and agriculture in Sirigao village. The court also asked the agency to recommend measures to negate the damage to agriculture and water resources, if any.

The NEERI study reported that the water table in the village was depleted and its (village's) topography too altered due to the open cast mining activity.

The environmental degradation according to the report was due to the deepening of mines and loss of recharge area.

“The deepening of the mines has led to the loss of recharge area for the dug wells seated at the foothills of the plateau.

Hence, the water scarcity is attributed to the loss of recharge area and deepening of mines,” the report mentioned.

On studying the groundwater scenario, NEERI said, the situation was terrible in December 2008, with almost all the dug wells in Sirigao dry, while in the neighbouring villages the wells had water in the same month.

The reputed agency also pointed out in its report that highs of the ground water resources were removed because of the open cast mining activity and depressions created in form of mine pits.

It also revealed that mechanized mining had worsened the situation and suggested that the water crisis could be tackled if artificial recharge was done.

“Open cast iron ore mines owned by M/s Rajaram Bandekar (Sirigao) Mines Pvt Ltd, M/s Dempo Mining Corporation Pvt Ltd (now Sesa Goa) and M/s Chowgule & Co Pvt Ltd are having iron ore working mines in and around Sirigao village since 1949, 1951 and 1949 respectively.”

BE(n)d it like Goa sarkar

BY A GT REPORTER

PANJIM, JULY 21: Aiming to be a Grade I teacher and you aren’t armed with BEd degree? Don’t worry, you are always welcome to Govt-run higher secondary schools, for, they don’t insist on one. But contrary to its flexibility in its teaching institutions, mandatory are the norms laid by it for aided schools.

Picture this: In a shocking revelation, it has come to light that the State’s education department has one set of rules to recruit teachers in its own higher secondary schools and another for employing teachers in aided, private schools.

The government is likely to appoint a significant number of teachers to regular posts in Government Higher Secondary Schools, shockingly without the BEd qualification.

The teachers have been selected despite the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) having instructed the Directorate of Education to amend the recruitment rules for appointment of ‘Teacher Grade I’ and make the education degree (BEd) compulsory for selection of higher secondary teachers.

But what went wrong in the process of changing the recruitment rules, the Directorate of Education is yet to officially reveal.

The Department had advertised for 60 posts of ‘Teacher Grade I’ in different subjects to be filled up through the GPSC in December 2008.

“What is the fate of teachers without BEd in the classroom? It’s like the fate of a doctor in the operation theatre without surgical equipments,” said one senior teacher in the government’s employ for decades.

Every selection of Teacher Grade I in any subject in the aided higher secondary schools makes the BEd qualification compulsory, he said.

It is learnt that these ‘unqualified’ teachers were likely to step into the positions of teachers who were promoted on adhoc basis as higher secondary teachers, all of who have vast teaching experience and have obtained excellent results for several years. But unfortunately they were deemed unsatisfactory at the interview and would be demoted as assistant teachers.

When contacted, a senior Directorate of Education official admitted on condition of anonymity, that such a lacuna does indeed exist in the recruitment rules.

The department is in the process of amending the recruitment rules, the official said, while refusing to come on record.

According to him, nobody took cognisance of this lacuna in the requirement rules since there was a stagnant number of only nine government higher secondary schools in Goa since 1976, while, aided higher secondary schools mushroomed since 1986.

The official also admitted that these lapses had affected the promotional prospects of qualified teachers. It is learnt that one senior teacher teaching a science subject at a Ponda school on completion of MA, was promoted as an English teacher in a higher secondary school at Panjim, bypassing English teachers, who have seen no promotion come their way for over two decades.

Some teachers complained that they are not promoted in subject-wise categories, even as they were appointed subject-wise at the time of initial recruitment.

BJP pushes for biographies of tiatrists in school curriculum

BY A GT REPORTER

PANJIM, JULY 21: For posterity to remember the rich contribution of veteran Tiatrists to Konkani stage, the BJP feels their biographies need to be included in the school curriculum. And to start with, the BJP wants such biographies to be prepared by the Directorate of Art and Culture.

Raised on the floor of the House yesterday, this demand comes close on the heels of the Tiatr Academy of Goa also airing similar views on this subject in recent times.

The BJP sought to voice this demand while the House paid rich tributes to the memory of late Tiatrist Manuel Santana Aguiar alias M Boyer and former bureaucrat Alban Couto.

Moving the motion for the obituary reference, Mapusa BJP MLA Francis D’Souza described the late Boyer as a colossus in the field of drama and a dramarist par excellence.

“He was a producer, writer and director as well as a comedian and a serious artiste.

He was also a lover of Konkani language and thoroughly enjoyed acting,” said D’Souza.

“Let the Art and Culture Department prepare biographies of such Tiatrists which can prove to be an inspiration for future generations. If possible, get these books (biographies) in the school curriculum,” he demanded, as he found support from PWD Minister Churchill Alemao from the treasury benches.

Deputy Speaker Mauvin Godinho, who also spoke in favour of the motion, wanted the Tiatr Academy of Goa to get more funds for enabling it to raise the standard of Tiatr.

Others who spoke in favour of the motion included Curtorim MLA Alex Reginald Lourenco, PWD Minister Churchill Alemao, Santacruz MLA Victoria Fernandes, Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira, Civil Supplies Minister Jose Philip D’Souza, St Andre MLA Francis Silveira, Fatorda MLA Damodar Naik and opposition leader Manohar Parrikar.

Replying to the motion, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said the late Boyer spread social message through his Tiatr and framed songs hailing Hindu, Muslim and Catholic unity in the state. Referring to Couto, the Chief Minister recalled his services to the state as and when called upon to deliver during crucial times.

“He also got an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth Secretariat,” claimed Kamat.