PONDA: The mines engineering students of Goa College of Engineering (GCE), Farmagudi, have gone on an indefinite boycott of classes protesting nonpayment of salaries to five teaching faculty and other non-teaching staff of the mines department. 

The student strength of the mines engineering department is around 90.

According to the students, the mines department was started in 2012-13 with the cooperation of mining companies, when the mining ban was imposed in the State. Despite the closure of mines, the salary of the faculty was sponsored by Sesa for three years. However, after December 2016, Sesa stopped the sponsorship and since then the teaching and non-teaching staff of the mines department have not been paid their salaries.

The students complained that since the entire teaching faculty of the mines department is from outside Goa, they are facing hardship without salaries since December last year.

The nonpayment of salaries to the mines department staff was reportedly taken up before the college principal, the head of the department and also the government. However, the salaries of these staff have remained unpaid till date.

When questioned the college principal why the salaries of the mines department staff have not been paid since December last year and what steps he was taking to solve the issue and end the boycott of students, he refused to comment.