Latest news with #EligibleTeachers'RightsForum
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Cops, jobless teachers in cat-and-mouse game in city centre, Salt Lake for 5 hours
Kolkata: Hundreds of cops and jobless teachers played a cat-and-mouse game across Sealdah, Esplanade and Salt Lake for five hours on Friday as police pulled out all the stops to thwart the SSC teachers' march to Nabanna. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Kolkata Police detained 110 protesters, including 24 women, from Dorina crossing and near Sealdah station. All were taken to Lalbazar before being released. The Eligible Teachers' Rights Forum had called for a shirtless march to Nabanna, demanding their job back and an alternative to fresh recruitment exam. As a group gathered at Sealdah station at 11 am, they met police resistance. Each cop on duty was provided with photos of the prominent faces of the teachers, who have been protesting against their job loss following the SC order. Police checked the IDs before rounding them up. Several protesters reported rough handling by police. A woman teacher claimed, "We were standing at the metro station when police insisted we boarded the prison van without explanation." Male teachers alleged being dragged by their collars. "We reached the Sealdah station at 9.30 am and a large number of woman cops were deployed. As soon as the unemployed teachers were spotted, they were taken away in police vehicles," said a senior officer. The situation escalated when 200-odd protesters gathered outside Central Park metro station in Salt Lake. Some of the shirtless protesters reached Bikas Bhavan around 3.15 pm. Police initially requested them to put on their clothes, but when they refused, 10 men were detained. "We have been allowing them to stage a peaceful demonstration all these days, but we had to take action when it became a public nuisance," said a Bidhannagar City Police officer. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Three women, who had tried to stop the detention, were picked up. None was arrested. Forum convener Mehebub Mandal claimed they had emailed police about the march. "We will on Sunday observe Condemn Day against the cop attack on protesters," he said. A teacher shouted, "Let them kill us, shoot us."
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Jobless teachers fail to meet PM & CM, call for Nabanna Abhiyan today
1 2 Kolkata: Attempts by state school teachers, who have lost their jobs following an SC order, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as chief minister Mamata Banerjee failed on Thursday. In the evening, the protesters called for a 'Nabanna Abhiyan' on Friday, demanding their jobs back. During Modi's visit to Alipurduar, a group of teachers there sought an appointment with the PM to "discuss their concerns and find a solution to the impasse" but were denied a meeting. One of the teachers there said they submitted a memorandum to the BJP MP and MLA of the district to convey their message to Modi. Eligible Teachers' Rights Forum member Chinmoy Mandal said, "The PM raised our issue in his speech. But we were denied permission to meet him. Our friends were warned against any protest." In Kolkata, six woman teachers reached the CM's Kalighat residence early on Thursday but they were stopped outside by police. The six were taken to the Kalighat PS, where they were asked about the purpose of their visit. The teachers requested an appointment with the CM but failed to meet her as she was at Nabanna. Sangita Saha, one of them, said, "We did not go to Kalighat to stage a protest or demonstration. We wanted to ask the CM how it was possible to appear for an exam after 10 years of teaching experience. " After four hours, the women left the Kalighat PS, submitting a petition seeking an appointment with Banerjee. Police told them they would be promptly notified about Banerjee's response. In their petition, the teachers insisted on not sitting for a recruitment exam again and urged the CM to consider "alternative ways" to save their jobs. They also asked about the relaxations in the exams, which the CM had promised, and about the process of getting their pre-school govt jobs back. In the evening, the teachers called for a shirtless 'Nabanna Abhiyan' on Friday from Sealdah at 11 am. Chinmoy said, "We have called the rally to Nabanna to present our demands."
