Assam: Teachers threaten to end lives by jumping into pond

23 July 2018:

Altogether 1,514 teachers, belonging to All Assam Salary Deprived Assistant Teachers’ Association (AASDATA), have threatened to end their lives by jumping into the Sivasagar “pukhuri” (pond) on July 26 as their salaries were not released for six years.

Speaking to InsideNe, AASDATA secretary Basanta Neog said, “We are deprived of our salaries for the last six years. The lower and upper primary school teachers were given the appointment letters by the state government with a proper financial sanction. However, in 2006, they were declared to be appointed illegally”.

He demanded that the state government make it public as to under what grounds it took the decision to suspend the teachers who had been working for the past 20-24 years.

“They were given appointments by the state government itself. This is a conspiracy against us and we will not accept it. Many of the teachers were engaged by the government to work for the updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and 2016 Assembly election. However, soon they were declared as illegal by the government. This is not acceptable at all,” Neog said.

He added: “As we are facing problems and our demands are not being fulfilled, I feel guilty of not being able to fight for the rights of the teachers. Hence, I decided to commit suicide along with my family members. The 1,514 teachers have supported my decision and they said they will also do the same,” he added.