Protesting teachers agree to relocate, await basic amenities

Kolkata: Teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court verdict have agreed to shift their protest site from Bikash Bhavan to Central Park (Boimela Prangan) in Salt Lake, in accordance with a Calcutta High Court directive. However, they have made it clear that they will only move once the new location is equipped with basic amenities. On Saturday, Brindaban Ghosh, a leader of the Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha, said the forum welcomes the court’s decision. He confirmed that the protestors had inspected the new site along with police officials. “We are ready to relocate in line with the court order, but only after arrangements are made for temporary sheds, water and bio-toilets. We also demand that arrangements for electricity be made,” said Ghosh. “We have conveyed our standpoint to the authorities.” Sources said that Bidhannagar North Police Station has already written to the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), requesting that the necessary arrangements be made for the protesting teachers in compliance with the court order. Once the infrastructure is in place, the police will formally request the protestors to shift.

On Friday, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh allowed the protest to continue but restricted the number of participants to 200 at any given time. He also directed the BMC to provide basic amenities at the new site, including drinking water and bio-toilets. Despite agreeing to relocate, the protestors have given the state government a deadline of Monday to initiate talks. “If the government doesn’t sit with us by then, we will launch a larger agitation,” said Habibullah, one of the protesting teachers. They have previously sent letters and emails to Education Minister Bratya Basu and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, without receiving a response. Now, they plan to contact all MPs from West Bengal, urging them to raise the issue in Parliament.