Teachers’ assns demand jobs for deceased’s kin

Case 1: A primary teacher Swati Gupta (25) from Jaunpur district was deployed in the election duty in Meerut. After the third phase of polling, the teacher complained of breathlessness. She was then tested positive and was admitted to the district hospital. She however, succumbed to Covid-19, barely three days before her wedding was to be held on April 30.
Case 2: A 50-year-old Ram Karan Singh, who participated in the last phase of polling in Shahjahanpur, fell down at the Election Commission’s block office while he went to submit the election bag.He remained unconscious the whole night and was admitted to the district hospital the next day by some villagers. He was sent home and on May 15 he died after developing complications.
Lucknow: As the death toll of teachers cross the 1000 mark, the teachers’ unions in UP, including one affiliated to the RSS, are seeking justice for families of teachers who succumbed to Covid-19 while deployed on panchayat poll duty. As per a list of the Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh, an RSS affiliate, 1,205 teaching and non-teaching staff of primary schools across UP died due to election duties. While Lakhimpur Kheri saw the death of 56 teachers, tributes were offered to 54 teachers in Rae Bareli. A comparatively small district Lalitpur recorded 42 deaths, the list showed.
Demanding compensation and job to dependants, RSM functionaries said over four lakh teachers and employees were roped in for panchayat poll as voting officers. The association urged the government to provide relaxation in rules while doling out jobs to dependents of the deceased.
“Our request to the government to vaccinate teachers before deploying them on poll duty went unheard. Be it training or vote-counting exercise, no Covid-19 protocols were followed which took over 1,000 lives,” said Shiv Shankar Singh, RSM’s organisational secretary. He said the dependants who are class 12 pass or below should be accommodated on clerical posts and not as class four employees. State general secretary, RSM, Bhagwati Singh said, “There is no district where teachers have not fallen prey to Covid-19 due to election duty. These teachers didn’t die due to heart attack in a day, but because they were exposed to an unsafe environment.”
UP Prathmik Shikshak Sangh too have come out with a list of 1,600 teachers who succumbed to Covid while on poll duty. Union’s state general secretary Sanjay Singh said, “We are sad and shocked by so many casualties. The government’s apathy is adding to the crisis. While the government is getting verification of dead teachers done, officers are changing reasons or are delaying the process. Instead of talking to us, they are doubting the list.” “When bodies are being immersed in water, government wants post-mortem report. Teachers had Covid like symptoms but their report was negative. Later, they developed complications and died. So they are not eligible for compensation. Who will take care of all such families?”