In its marathon agitation which completed 386 days on Monday the Trained Unemployed Physical Teacher Association of Uttarakhand (TUPTA) has employed every method of registering protest for its demand for creation of a post of physical education teacher in all government schools, but it appears that all their efforts have failed till date.
The members of the association have written letters in blood, scaled the overhead water tanks and undertaken marches to the secretariat, Chief Minister’s residence and Vidhan Sabha. They have gheraoed the state ministers, undertaken sanitation drives, taken out candle marches, retorted to hunger strikes, polished shoes in public places and even expressed their frustration by engaging in begging.
The association is demanding that the state government should make permanent appointments of physical education teachers in all the Primary and middle schools of the state without the restriction of student number.
The other demands of these unemployed physical education teachers are release of recruitment advertisement for 10000 posts, appointments in the upgraded schools under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and creation of post of lecturer physical education in the Government Inter Colleges (GIC) of state.
The association created flutter when some of its members climbed on top of water storage tanks twice in span of twenty days in last month and in la Veeru act of famous Hindi movie Sholay threatened to jump from the tank if their demands are not accepted. On October 2 the association dispatched letters written in blood to President, Prime Minister, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and state congress President Kishore Upadhyaya.
The members of the association have undertaken Secretariat march seven times, CM residence march five times, march to state assembly seven times and Gheraoed the education minister five times in course of their agitation. It is interesting to note that the delegation of association has met present CM Harish Rawat 54 times and former CM Vijay Bahuguna 37 times in last one year.
The TUPTA has undertaken two hunger strikes during this period. On the assurance of state education minister Manrti Parasad Naithani the association called off its last hunger strike on February 3. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), Namtra Bohra one of the member of the association and recipient of Tilu Rauteli award for bravery has returned the award to the government as a mark of protest.
The President of TUPTA Sunder Dhoni told The Pioneer that the members of the association are determined to go to any extreme to get their demand fulfilled. He said that during the Dharchula assembly By election, CM Harish Rawat has given categorical assurance that he would look into the demands of the association. The Vice president of association S N Semwal said the government has done everything to break the agitation but it has failed in its effort.
The State Ggovernment has given assurance to these teachers that the process of recruitment of 5000 physical education teachers would start soon. Doni said that the association has enough of assurances and now want concrete steps from the Government.