Members of various teachers’ unions block the main gate of the DC’s office during a protest over the death of a BLO teacher couple from Mansa in Patiala on Tuesday. PHOTO: RAJESH SACHAR
As 15 teacher unions across Punjab staged protests outside Deputy Commissioners’ offices on Tuesday over the tragic death of a government teacher couple in a road accident in Moga on Sunday, it has emerged that two more teachers — both women from Patiala district — were injured in separate accidents while heading for election duty.
Rajvir Kaur, an associate teacher posted at a government school in Sunam, met with an accident while travelling to Munak for poll duty. She is currently admitted to a private hospital.
Another associate teacher, Paramjit Kaur of Patran, was also injured while on her way to perform election duty. She was discharged from a private hospital in Patiala.
Condemning the incidents, Vikram Dev, state president of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), questioned the logic of conducting elections in December despite adverse weather conditions.
“These incidents go on to show that life of a teacher does not matter to the government. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has merely done a formality by posting a message on X and expressing regret. If at all the elections were to be conducted, then why the teachers were deployed 50 km to 60 km away from their place of posting due to which they had to wake up as early as around 3 am,” he alleged.
He said the authorities were well aware of weather warnings and dense fog conditions.
“Teacher unions had raised concerns in advance, but these warnings were ignored. Our plight is still the same. We have to reach the counting centres for elections duty on Wednesday,” he added.
DTF, Patiala, vice press secretary Gagan Ranu said the protesting unions had demanded a compensation of Rs 2 crore each for the next of kin of the deceased teacher couple Jaskaran Singh and Kamaljit Kaur. A unified front of various teaching unions staged protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office and burnt the effigy of state government and state election commission.
They also sought Rs 20 lakh compensation and free medical treatment for teachers who sustained injuries while travelling to or returning from duty during the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections.
The unions further demanded that, in future, election duty of teachers should be assigned close to their place of residence or workplace. They also reiterated their demand that teachers be exempted from non-teaching duties, including functioning as booth level officers (BLOs), in line with the government’s earlier assurances