30 primary school teachers arrested for ‘blocking road’ amidst fears of losing jobs in Chhattisgarh

The protests intensified last month after the high court gave two weeks to the state government to implement the April order, failing which, “serious action” would be taken. For a fortnight, these teachers have been holding various kinds of protests to draw the government’s attention — from cleaning streets to tonsuring their hair.

On Wednesday, a group of teachers held protests outside the Ekatma Parisar building, appealing to the government to give them similar jobs claiming there were “huge vacancies” in the education department. When the local police allegedly asked them to move them out and instead go to New Raipur where a ground “has been designated for such protests”, the teachers blocked a road and affected traffic.

“It’s a preventive arrest to avoid any untoward incident. They have been booked for unlawful assembly. No FIR is registered,” a senior police official said.

Earlier this week, teachers got into the Sendh Lake in New Raipur as a “Jal Samadhi satyagraha protest” and on Tuesday, the last day of the year, hundreds of teachers made a human chain to form the word “Samayojan (adjustment)”.