Relieve teachers from Covid-19 survey in Bengaluru, says JDS

This comes after the teachers’ attempts to persuade the urban local body went in vain.
A health worker carries coronavirus testing kits to a clinic near Town Hall Junction in Bengaluru on Tuesday | SHRIRAM BN
A health worker carries coronavirus testing kits to a clinic near Town Hall Junction in Bengaluru on Tuesday | SHRIRAM BN

BENGALURU: The JDS has slammed the BBMP for deploying teachers from Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts for the booth-level Covid-19 survey work that is being carried out in Bengaluru. This comes after the teachers’ attempts to persuade the urban local body went in vain.

In a letter to BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad, the JDS has demanded that the civic body and the government immediately relieve the teachers from these two districts from the survey work. It has asked them to recognise teachers on such duty as Covid warriors and be provided with facilities that are being extended to other Covid warriors in the State.

A P Ranganath, president of the JDS law unit, questioned the rationale of engaging teachers from the two districts, who need to travel 50-100km daily to participate in the survey in Bengaluru. “The teachers may contract the virus while travelling, let alone during the survey work,” he said.

Primary Teachers Association president Chandrashekar Nugli said despite several appeals, the BBMP has not budged from its stand on exempting teachers over 50 years of age as a large number would have to be exempted then. It finally exempted only those over 55 years of age, he said. Following the teachers’ association appeal in this regard, the Department of Public Instruction has clarified that it cannot relieve all teachers above 50 years due to acute shortage of personnel.

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