The role of the State government has come into sharp focus following the Tuem tragedy where four students drowned in a water-filled stone quarry on Saturday evening. There was a complete failure in complying with NGT directives of April 3, 2019, on scientific closure of pits dug for legal and illegal mining of minor minerals. Yes, the State administration has overlooked these human and animal death traps. But on the other side, it is also the responsibility of school managements towards day schoolers and boarders.
Parents entrust their wards to school managements and it is their prime responsibility to put systems in place and provide them with a secure environment. If 44 students were taken for a trek, it was the duty of the school to ensure their safe return to the campus. Students cannot be given the liberties of indulging in such excursions where life could be at risk. If there was a swimming session on the agenda, it certainly cannot be at an abandoned stone quarry and certainly not without trained swimmers/instructors overseeing.
It has come to light that students were habituated to sneaking out of the campus and going swimming at these quarries. Given the dangers in the vicinity, the school should have been extra cautious and put stringent systems in place because of the risks to the life of students. Managements cannot be mute spectators in situations like these. Moreover, it is all the more reason to put stringent systems in place.
Youth have been using water-filled quarries for swimming across Goa. It’s been happening for the thrills and adventures of these vast artificially-created zones where there are no worries about water currents. Students and teenagers mostly overlook the risks of an unknown topography and the varying depths of water which are at times difficult to fathom. And this is where innocent mischief could turn tragic.
On the flip side, Goa has a countless number of illegal quarries and sand extraction sites doing brisk business in broad daylight. A cursory glance at the booming real estate sector is a testimony to the fact that stone-quarrying and sand mining are happening clandestinely. Apparently, sand mining is happening right under the nose of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at Amona while he shuttles between his residence in Sanquelim and office in Panaji.
Stone quarries come under the Revenue Ministry. There is a machinery in place to check illegalities, which includes the Collector, Deputy Collector, Goa State Pollution Control Board, Police and the Transport Department. Stone quarry owners have managed to work their way through the system and have flourished in their trade. The rampant mushrooming of quarries indicates that the administration itself is hand-in-glove with operators. And which is why, despite all assurances, the government is going to face an uphill task on scientific closure of pits.
We only hope that the tragic death of these four students will ring alarm bells to schools. And we also hope that the administration starts moving as per the NGT directives.
