Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 22: Police foiled the protest march of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalya (KGBV) teachers, sitting on hunger strike at Press Club, towards Raj Bhawan here today.
Nearly one hundred female teachers hailing from various districts of Kashmir valley and parts of Jammu region, are sitting on protest dharna/ hunger strike at Exhibition Ground near Press Club Jammu for the last one week. Today was the seventh day of their hunger strike. Nearly 700 teachers engaged by the State Education Department in 99 such schools across the State are demanding their regularisation.
Today, the protesting KGBV teachers, bearing black bands on their head started their protest march towards Raj Bhawan to submit a memorandum to the Governor. As they reached near Dogra Chowk, hardly 100 mtrs away from the dharna venue, the police contingent including lady police intercepted them. The teachers showed some resistance but they were over powered and not allowed to move ahead by lady cops. During the scuffle a lady teacher Jyoti Bandral fell down and received an injury on her head. She was later removed to GMC, Hospital.
The agitating female teachers held protest demonstration against State Administration, Education Department and police for some time there and then again resumed their hunger strike at the same venue.
Mymoon Khan, president of All J&K KGBV Employees Association condemned the police action and said that they were taking out peaceful march towards Raj Bhawan and the purpose was just to hand over the memorandum to the Governor N N Vohra. She said that for the last 7 days lady teachers from various parts of Kashmir are sitting on hunger strike but it is a matter of shame that not even a single officer from Education Department, State or Divisional Administra-tion visited them so far.
She said out of 693, hardly 90 teachers have been regularized on pick and choose basis till now while all others have been ignored. They were engaged on ReT pattern and many of them completed the full term of 5 years about 3-4 years ago but they are still waiting for regularization. Commissioner/ Secretary, Education Departm-ent Shaleen Kabra and even PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had given assurance of their regularization with in one month during September 2015 but nothing happened till date. She sought the intervention of State Governor N N Vohra into the matter.
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