Rain or shine teachers continue to protest across state

BHOPAL: 'Ye Shikshak Ka Ghar Hai, Bhajpai Pravesh Na Karein' (This is the house of a teacher, BJP leaders plz don't enter); contractual teachers of the Seoni district who are fed up with the government for not meeting their genuine demands had pasted pamphlets with these wording on their doors.
This is not an isolated case of Seoni, teachers are protesting all over the state demanding the dissolution of all the cadres of teachers into one cadre and payment of respectable salaries.More than 120 teachers from across the state have even been hospitalized till date owing to the hunger strike going on at several places.
Contractual teachers, Gurujis, Adhyapak Warg and around 72,000 other teachers of the state are on strike since February 18, claimed state secretary of the association Lalit Tiwari.
Similarly, in Sidhi district at least three teachers who were on hunger strike were hospitalised on Monday.
District education officer, K K Pandey said, "We have written to the district collector to take action against 13 teachers as they were reported absent during examinations."
"Two teachers of the Seoni district Nilesh Jain and Vinay Upadhya tonsured their heads to express their discontent," Seoni district president of Adhyapak Sangh, Vipnesh Jain told TOI. "We are going for Jal Samadhi at Bhenganga river around 35km from district headquarters," he added.
Earlier on March 3 also striking teachers went for Jal Satyagraha at Jirapur in Rajgarh district, Jabalpur and Khategaon in Dewas district. At Jirapur, teachers are standing in Chhapi river, in Jabalpur and Khategaon, they are standing in Narmada river.
In Indore at least three teachers including a woman teacher have been hospitalised due to the ongoing hunger strike, said Bharat Bhargav Indore president of the Adhyapak Sangh.
Similarly in Burhanpur also teachers are on strike and at least 4 teachers have been hospitalised till date, said sources. In Raisen district at least 3 teachers were hospitalised during the hunger strike. Protesting teachers of Bhind district celebrated the birthday of the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan where cake made of cow dung was cut, said sources.
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Teachers double up as egg sellers, grocery shop workers and even auto-drivers
Salaries of teachers are such that they have to pick up petty jobs from running egg stalls to grocery shops to arrange for two square meals. A teacher of Indore even runs auto-rickshaw after his school.
Kamal Chauhan, a teacher posted as Sahayak Adhyapak at a government primary school in Mayakhedi in Indore doubles up as an egg vendor in front of the district hospital every evening.
"I have no other option as running an 11 member family with such a meager salary is not possible, so I have resorted to running the egg stall," Chauhan told TOI.
Another teacher Anand Thapre who teaches at Bal Vinay Mandir school doubles up as an auto-rickshaw driver at Indore, said the district president of teachers' association, Bharat Bhargav.
Similarly the in-charge district president of the teachers' association at Burhanpur runs a grocery shop.
"Prices have shot up and affording better schooling and other family expenses is becoming difficult everyday. I run a grocery shop at my house in the early mornings and evenings. In the afternoon it is either closed or taken care of by my wife or children," incharge district president of teachers association Pramod Shatau told TOI.
The salaries of these teachers range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 12,000 per month which is very low compared to the permanent teachers of the education department.