The high voltage drama of contractual workers of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) continued on Thursday with the police and district administration failing in their attempts to persuade the agitated workers to come down from overhead water tank. 

Five members of the  association of laboratory and office assistants of RMSA had scaled the overhead water tank at Pavilion ground on the intervening night of Tuesday/ Wednesday. On Thursday administration did everything from cajoling its leaders to threaten them so that the five stationed atop the tank are brought down. However all the tactics of the administration failed. 

The President of the association Vivek Bhatt told The Pioneer that the five would come down only when the Chief Minister Harish Rawat gives some concrete assurance on the demand of the association.

The RMSA workers are agitating on single point agenda  of renewal of their contract. The education department had terminated the services of 1256 outsource employees of RMSA as the Central Government had stopped funding their salaries in the month of March.

Bhatt said that other members of the association would start an indefinite hunger strike near the overhead water tank from Friday if the stalemate continues.

One of the worrying facts for administration and police is that the five agitators who are perched atop the overhead water tank are carrying a bottle of petrol. The actions of the police to sort out the matter also appeared improper. The police placed a net below the tank which is not good enough to hold the weight if one of the agitator decides to jump off the overhead tank.  Further some thin mattresses were also placed on the ground which everyone (including policemen) present there believed are not good enough to save anyone’s life. One of a senior police officer who visited the spot said that the police is playing wait and watch game and hope to exhaust the agitators.