Ameet Oberoi
GANGTOK, 01 Feb: The health condition of the president Sonam Sherpa and the vice president C Tamang of All Sikkim Departmental Adhoc Staff Group [ASDASG], who have been on an indefinite hunger strike since the evening of 29 January is detoriating. They were visited by doctors from the Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial [STNM] Hospital today and yesterday as well who advised them to take medicines because of health problems. However both the agitating teachers have refused. This is in protest to the non response or non intervention on behalf of either the state government or officials from the Human Resource Development Department [HRDD].
The dharna by the ASDASG today entered its sixth day while the hunger strike went into its fourth day today. The two, along with other members of ASDASG, teaching and non teaching staff of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan [SSA] and HRDD have been sitting on a dharna here at the District Administrative Centre [DAC] premises situated at Sichey since 27 January. “We want the State government to take some action and address the problems being faced by adhoc teachers [teaching and non teaching] of SSA and HRDD, but till now no official from the state government or the HRD Department has come and spoken to us”, informed the ASDASG president Sonam Sherpa. He added that they had already submitted their memorandum of grievances and demands to the Minister HRDD and the Secretary HRDD.
The ASDASG has also constituted a negotiating team from amongst their members in the event of any future talks; besides the group is also preparing a memorandum to the Governor and the President of India very soon.
We are even ready to sacrifice ourselves, so that we can set an example for the future generation and that is why we are following the Gandhian principle, the president said and added that if there was no action taken either by the State Government of officials from the HRD Department then they would be left with no option but to sacrifice their lives.
It was alleged by the demonstrating teachers that the department had not been following the proper norms and criteria so why was it showing them NCTE rules when it came to the issue of their appointment. We just want to be given equal opportunity and the extension of our tenures, stated the president.
They informed that other leaders who were approached had also expressed helplessness and they further clarified that they were apolitical. At the same time they welcomed support from all quarters.
The blame goes to Gandhi for popularizing such a subversive form of protest. The people on hunger strike are demanding something which is not possible. If staying hungry is all that it took for a person to get a job, then joblessness would have been eradicated completely. In this age of competition, one's capacity for drama and staying hungry cannot be the criteria for obtaining employment.
ReplyDeleteThe government of Sikkim has buckled for too long under such unreasonable demands; it is time that it stood its ground. The SSA is purely a central scheme and the teachers are appointed strictly on contractual basis. The people on fast knew what they were signing up for when they agreed to the conditions of their appointment. To protest now is as preposterous as it is childish.