Husband alleges political pressure
TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CALANGUTE: If a lady government teacher is forced to accept her new transfer, she would need to wake up by about 4 am each morning and then travel about 2 to 3 hours to reach her school.
Roshni Sakhalkar’s new posting at a Government High School (GHS) at Surla-Sattari is about 75 kms from her house in Saligao and what makes Roshni unhappy about the transfer is that she would have significantly less time to be with her four children, given the long travel hours.
Her husband, Bhola Sakhalkar, a former sarpanch of Saligao Panchayat, is convinced that his wife’s transfer to a school in a remote part of the State amounts to “undue harassment” and suspects that it has been done at the behest of a minister.
Roshni has been transferred to the Surla GHS on grounds of “administrative transfer” by the education department.
“We have four children, the youngest being a one-year-old son and Roshni now has to cover a distance of 75 kms to reach her school in Surla. The education department had earlier tried to transfer Roshni to Pernem in September 2012 but the transfer was stalled by the Teachers Union. This transfer is nothing but undue harassment to my spouse and I suspect it has been done at the behest of a minister,” said Bhola.
“I do not understand why my family has been targeted for petty political gains. I’m not even a panchayat member but my family is unnecessarily being harassed. It is really surprising that such harassment takes place under the present regime. I have high regards for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who also holds the education portfolio and I sincerely hopes he takes steps to rectify this anomaly,” he added.
Incidentally, the Sangolda Panchayat has also sympathised with Roshni’s plight and is reported to have written to authorities concerned to revoke her transfer to the school which is 75 kms from her residence.
