Panjim’s 25 year old astronomy observatory struggling to survive; works out of the terrace of Junta house; NGO waits for years as files move from office to office to shift the observatory
AFTAB SHAIKH
India’s first and Goa’s only public Astronomy observatory in Panjim has been completely ignored by most government authorities. The Public Astronomical Observatory will soon be completing 25 years, but their struggle for survival still continues.
The Observatory which is run by the Government is managed by an NGO called Association of Friends of Astronomy (AFA). Although the government supports it with sufficient funds, necessary space for the institution is lacking. AFA has been drafting dozens of letters to all concerned authorities to grant the vacant premises on the fourth floor of Junta House for the observatory but the files are being sent from one department to another. However, AFA ended up submitting a memorandum to Panjim MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar, who has given a positive nod.
Speaking to Herald, the President of AFA, Satish Nayak said, “Siddharth Kunkolienkar has assured to speak to the Chief Minister and get it approved. The area should be sanctioned by Laxmikant Parsekar.”
AFA has been requesting the state government to allot the vacant space on the fifth floor of the Junta House, which once accommodated the department of Planning and Statistics. “The entire Junta House is almost vacant now. The day when the Planning and Statistics Department was shifted from Junta House, we had requested the government to shift us on that floor,,” added Nayak.
Currently the Astronomical Observatory is located on the terrace of Panaji’s landmark six-storey Junta House, which was allotted 25 years back. The terrace was recently termed as precarious and in desperate need of repairs by the PWD. Apart from the terrace, the observatory functions from part of a corridor in the building, while a 25 sq mtr room, allotted to the association a decade ago, is used as a storeroom. Besides lack of space, the place is also in need of basic amenities like toilet facilities and drinking water.
Goa is the only place in India to have rural astronomy centres and a mini observatory. There are a total of seven observatories across Goa which are managed by the headquarter centre is Panjim; which itself is on the verge of closing due to a lack of space. Besides Panjim, Margao, Mapusa, Vasco and Porvorim have mini observatories and Morjim, Canacona and Borim have rural astronomy centres. However, the closure of the headquarters will result in the closure of other centres across Goa as well. “It’s not just the Panjim observatory that will be affected but also all the other observatories across the state. The Panjim observatory is the headquarters which manages the others,” Nayak added.
As of now, a memorandum has been sent to Kunkolienkar requesting help in acquiring the vacant premises on the fifth floor of Junta House for the observatory.
The observatory has fed many children’s curiosity of heaven and has influenced several Goan students to pursue astrophysics and research, including US-based astrophysicist Sharmila Kamat, Goa University Professor Nandakumar Kamat, world-renowned astrophysicist Jayant Naralikar and Vital Tilvi, an astrophysicist who has discovered many galaxies while at NASA.
