CANACONA
Finding their access to the school blocked, students and teachers of a Government Primary School (GPS) at Paryekatta in Khola-Canacona protested in a novel way by refusing to use the alternate route and stayed away from school till police and villagers re-opened the blocked road.
The parents and villagers were agitated after they noticed a woman, claiming to be the landowner through which the school has road access, had erected a blockade overnight using some thorny bushes, tree branches and stones to stop the access to the GPS building.
On Monday morning, the students were shocked to see the access blocked and refused to proceed to the school by using alternate avenues and soon, teachers also joined in the protest. The blockade was found erected at about 50-60 metres before reaching the school.
Noticing the students continuing to stand in the hot sun, some residents alerted the panchayat members and local panch, Guru Gaonkar, rushed to the site.
Other villagers, including Panch Pandhari Prabhugaonkar and former sarpanch Shrinivas Nayak, also went to the site and requested the woman to remove the blockade.
The woman, however, refused and said she wanted to build a house in the family property and claimed that the access to the school building had been illegally provided.
Police were also called to the site and by that time, some panchas were successful in persuading the woman. The villagers and the police later removed the blockade.
It was only after the blockade was removed that the students and teachers proceeded to the school premises and classes began past 11 am, sources added.
The locals alerted the police of recurrence of the road blockade at night and the police agreed to patrol the area at night.
The Canacona ADEI Ganesh Shet visited the site and agreed to conduct a further site inspection, before submitting a report to the Director of Education to prevent further interference to the access road leading to GPS at Parekatta-Khola.
Sources told The Goan that the State government has already taken over the property, where the GPS Pareyakatta is situated and there is no ownership dispute with anyone.
Finding their access to the school blocked, students and teachers of a Government Primary School (GPS) at Paryekatta in Khola-Canacona protested in a novel way by refusing to use the alternate route and stayed away from school till police and villagers re-opened the blocked road.
The parents and villagers were agitated after they noticed a woman, claiming to be the landowner through which the school has road access, had erected a blockade overnight using some thorny bushes, tree branches and stones to stop the access to the GPS building.
On Monday morning, the students were shocked to see the access blocked and refused to proceed to the school by using alternate avenues and soon, teachers also joined in the protest. The blockade was found erected at about 50-60 metres before reaching the school.
Noticing the students continuing to stand in the hot sun, some residents alerted the panchayat members and local panch, Guru Gaonkar, rushed to the site.
Other villagers, including Panch Pandhari Prabhugaonkar and former sarpanch Shrinivas Nayak, also went to the site and requested the woman to remove the blockade.
The woman, however, refused and said she wanted to build a house in the family property and claimed that the access to the school building had been illegally provided.
Police were also called to the site and by that time, some panchas were successful in persuading the woman. The villagers and the police later removed the blockade.
It was only after the blockade was removed that the students and teachers proceeded to the school premises and classes began past 11 am, sources added.
The locals alerted the police of recurrence of the road blockade at night and the police agreed to patrol the area at night.
The Canacona ADEI Ganesh Shet visited the site and agreed to conduct a further site inspection, before submitting a report to the Director of Education to prevent further interference to the access road leading to GPS at Parekatta-Khola.
Sources told The Goan that the State government has already taken over the property, where the GPS Pareyakatta is situated and there is no ownership dispute with anyone.
