Siliguri, April 9 -- The districts of North Bengal witnessed teacher-protestors march to DI offices and launch protests triggering flashpoints. In many places, they locked up the DI offices and even put up roadblocks in major thoroughfares and highways.
In Alipurduar, around 200 protestors gathered at the parade ground and marched to the office of the District Inspector (DI) of Schools. They locked the DI office in protest and later blocked the Rajkamal intersection on Buxa Feeder Road for about 30 minutes before withdrawing the agitation at the police's request.
In Jalpaiguri, demonstrators marched to the DI (Secondary) office and submitted a memorandum demanding the publication of OMR sheet mirror images and certified lists of qualified and unqualified candidates. They also urged the government to restore their jobs. A brief blockade was held at the Goshala intersection on NH-27, which lasted around 10 minutes.
In Cooch Behar, protestors marched from Rajbari Stadium to the DI office. A scuffle broke out at Sagar Dighi as police tried to stop them. Protestors then sat in front of the DI office and submitted a five-point memorandum to DI Samar Chandra Mandal. The demonstration ended after two hours.
In Siliguri, the protestors took out a rally from Baghajatin Park and proceeded toward the District Inspector (DI) of Schools' office, passing through the busy Hashmi Chawk. The protesters staged a demonstration at Hashmi Chawk by blocking the road. They even sat on the road for a short time, which created a traffic congestion. Later, after the intervention of the police, the rally moved to the DI office. Upon arrival, the demonstrators intensified their protest by surrounding the DI office and locking its main gate. They continued the protest. At around 4 pm, Rajeev Pramanik, the District Inspector, met with the protesters and received a memorandum outlining their demands; thereafter, the protest concluded for the day.
In North Dinajpur, the teachers protested outside the office of Murari Mohan Mandal, the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary) at Karnajora in Raiganj protesting against potential job terminations and salary halts. They urged Mandal to refrain from any drastic action. Mandal assured them that no instructions had been received from higher authorities to take such steps, stating that only data collection is underway. Balurghat in South Dinajpur witnessed over a hundred terminated teachers and staff locking the DI (Secondary) office demanding reinstatement of their jobs. The protestors raised slogans "teachers belong in classrooms, not courtrooms".
In Malda, there was a standoff between the protestors and police as over 1,356 put a lock at Siksha Bhawan in Malda. Protests continued till late with the protestors demanding justice.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.