Leaders of Andhra Pradesh United Teachers’ Federation (UTF) on January 11 (Thursday) said that vexed with the indifference on the part of the government, they would stage a series of protests across the State from January 14 to February 3.
The teachers’ union has submitted many representations to the authorities concerned and Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, urging the government to release payment of arrears of ₹18,000 crore to the government employees and teachers.
Agitated by what it called ‘the government’s indifference’, the teachers union called for a 36-hour-long dharna in Vijayawada on January 9 and 10. Hundreds of teachers who arrived in Vijayawada to participate in the protest were taken into police custody, they said.
Calling it ‘suppressive tactics of the government”, federation’s State president N. Venkateswarlu and general secretary K.S.S. Prasad said that they would stage a series of protests from January 14 and that they would not stop until the government releases the arrears.
They said the teachers would burn the ‘undemocratic attitude’ of the government in the bhogi fire on January 14 while protest rallies would be taken out in all towns and cities on January 19, followed by demonstrations at the district headquarters on January 24. Relay hunger strikes would be organised in all the districts from January 31 to February 3.
They said that if the government failed to concede their demand, they would intensify their agitation.
