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6000 teachers detained in Orissa

The Orissa police detained over 6000 teachers of private schools and colleges all over the state on Monday, to prevent them from reaching Bhubaneswar to participate in a gherao of the state assembly.

"For the first time in Orissa's history, the police detained so many teachers at several places in the state. It is nothing but an undemocratic move by the state government to prevent teachers from protesting against the government decision to freeze grant-in-aid to schools and colleges," said Abani Boral, general secretary, Orissa Sikshak Mahasangh.

The mahasangh had called for the gherao, pressing for fulfilment of their demand for grant-in-aid for schools and colleges up to 1994.

The mahasangh had stated that about 30,000 teachers from various private schools and colleges of the state would participate in the gherao . Boral said that the teachers would subsequently gherao the residences of their legislators on Tuesday, disallowing them from participating in the assembly proceedings.

Last August, about 3000 teachers were arrested by the police in Bhubaneswar, during a protest near the secretariat. About 15,000 teachers participated in the protest.

According to Sunil Rath, assistant secretary of the mahasangh, in Bhubaneswar alone the police detained over 1000 teachers. At the Laxmisagar municipal school too, police detained 1000 teachers, he said.

Police sources said that 75 platoons of the Orissa state armed police force and commandos would be deployed near the assembly and adjoining areas.

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