Ranchi, September 06: It was a Teachers’ Day of a very different kind. Thousands of them walked through the streets of Ranchi in pouring rain towards Jharkhand Raj Bhavan with a long list of grievances and begging bowls in their hands.
But what shocked everyone around was when about 300 of them started stripping to their bare essentials!
Police at Raj Bhavan immediately cordoned the area. The protesters, however, could not meet the governor. They left their charter of demands with an official.
Ranchi was `treated’ to a similar dare-to-bare show last year on Teachers’ Day. The carry forward stripping act this year, saw about 2,000 primary, secondary and intermediate teachers, including women, assembling at the Mohrabadi Ground around 11 am and then marching towards the Governor’s house about a kilometre away, carrying banners and placards and raising slogans. The teachers came from almost all the districts.
A day, dedicated to honouring and felicitating teachers, should see the teaching community baring in public, left Ranchi College student Mihir Oraon shocked. “I just could not believe my eyes!” he said.
The torrential rain and the almost two-and-a-half-hour rally took a toll on traffic that went haywire. Some of the teachers were arrested but released in the evening.
Among other demands, the teachers wanted a permanent affiliation of 56 inter colleges to the Jharkhand Academy Council and 23 Sanskrit upper vidyalayas. They also demanded a hike in honorarium for para-teachers. “We are expecting our six-point charter of demands, which we have handed over to the governor, to be fulfilled soon,” said Surender Jha, who was heading the rally, said.
“We are demanding permanent jobs and increase in pay. We get only Rs 3,000 per month, whereas a permanent government teacher gets at least Rs 15,000 per month. The para-teachers are the worst sufferers. Sometimes, they don’t even get to have two square meals,” said Vinod Tiwari, a teacher.
-Agencies