141 Goa government employees die annually: BJP

PANAJI - Contending that on an average 141 government employees die in Goa annually, opposition leader Manohar Parrikar Tuesday asked Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to analyse the reason for the “abnormally large” number of deaths.

“The fact that 141 government employees die every year while in government service makes the matter serious,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

Parrikar was speaking during question hour in the budget session of the Goa assembly.

“There is an urgent need to find out the cause of these deaths. Is it the high tension that is taking the toll on employees or is it because of the habits and addictions of these employees,” Parrikar asked.

In a written reply to the assembly, Kamat said from 2004 to 2009, 706 government employees died while in service.

Parrikar, a former chief minister, also suggested roping in the services of a qualified NGO to study the deaths “methodically”, in order to get to the bottom of the matter.

There are approximately 45,000 government servants employed by the Goa government.