15 teachers’ unions to protest today ‘harassment’ during ‘mismanaged’ poll duty

English teacher Jaskaran Singh Bhullar was on his way to drop his wife Kamaljeet Kaur off for her election duty in the wee hours on Sunday when their car plunged into a drain in Moga district. Police said the incident took place due to foggy weather conditions. The couple is survived by two children. Rajveer Kaur was travelling with her husband Malkit Singh for her election duty when they fell into a water channel and she suffered serious injuries and is undergoing treatment in Patiala, according to the statement.

Teachers’ unions alleged, “Despite raising red flags several times, women teachers have been assigned poll duties in far-flung areas, at least 70-100 km away from their stations, and due to lack of adequate arrangements, they have to travel long distances in foggy conditions.”

“DCs in several districts impose election duty on teachers, ignoring the SEC instructions and order registering FIRs (police cases) against employees/teachers who fail to report for the duty, no matter how far the location is,” the unions alleged.

The unions demanded the withdrawal of show-cause notices and FIR orders against Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and teachers, who could not attend election duty due to unavoidable reasons, failing which, they warned, the agitation would continue.

“In the future, all teachers should be assigned blocks where they reside/work, and teachers already working as BLOs should be exempted from election duty,” the unions demanded.