Teacher with disability wins praise for accepting election duty in Saran

CHHAPRA: When many govt employees want freedom from election duty citing different excuses, including disability, marriage in the family or other reasons, the decision of a physically challenged school headmaster to accept the poll duty has won praises from many senior administrative officials.
Mumtaz Alam (43), employed as headmaster in charge of B M C Maktab, Basti Zalal under Dighwara block in Saran district, has disability of both legs, but has no hesitation in contributing to this great festival of democracy.Alam has been given the responsibility of presiding officer in the second phase of Lok Sabha polls, and he has even decided to participate in a training programme scheduled for the polling officers.
Talking to mediapersons on Sunday, Mumtaz said, “Initially, I had applied to get relief from election duty citing my disability and urged the district administration to set up a medical board for this purpose. However, my wife, Akhtari Begum, encouraged me not to escape the duty. She told me that I should prove that disability is not a bar in fulfilling national duty. I accepted her suggestion happily.”