Sivasagar bandh evokes total response; women protesters allegedly manhandled

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

SIVASAGAR, October 28: The 12-hour Sivasagar bandh called by Betan Banchita Teachers’ Association of Sivasagar district demanding regularization of jobs and release of pending salaries of 45 months, evoked full response with several sporadic incidents in the district on Wednesday. Nearly 1,530 teachers of Sivasagar district have been deprived of regular salary for a consecutive 45 months.

The agitating teachers, who have not received their salaries since March 2012, staged a protest in front of the residences of Assam Assembly Speaker Prab Gogoi and APCC president Anjan Dutta. They later marched towards Dolmukh Chariali in Sivasagar town and burnt tyres where they clashed with executive magistrate Tapan Gohain. Altogether 31 protesters, including secretary of Betan Banchita Teachers’ Association Basanta Neog, were taken into custody for agitating.

Neog said that during the teachers’ recruitment process held between 1991 and 1999, 1,528 excess teachers were recruited by the State Government. At present, there are 1,476 excess teachers in Sivasagar district who had been receiving salaries on rotation since 2005 till February 2012. But it was stopped since February 2012 after the fince department returned the salary file of the teachers.

The agitators said that they met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Education Minister Sarat Borkotoky on various occasions with requests to consider the matter seriously and take steps for regularization of their jobs and release of pending salaries. But they received only assurances from them till date, the protesters alleged.

Meanwhile, the executive magistrate Tapan Gohain’s action against the protestors, particularly against the women protestors, came in for criticism. The protestors condemned the action terming it violation of human rights and demanded punishment against the executive magistrate who according to them, manhandled and misbehaved with women protesters during the protest. They also demanded immediate suspension of the officer.

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