Teachers Stage Dharna To Press Their Demands In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: The school teachers of Odisha’s Ganjam district staged a dharna in support of their various demands in Berhampur on Saturday.

The teachers under the banner of Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA), Ganjam chapter, sat on the dharna near the office of the district education officer in the city.

They claimed that though they had submitted their 21-charter of demands to chief minister, School and Mass Education Minister and the Chief Secretary on August 9, 2023, no step had been taken in this regard.

As the government had failed to initiate any step to address their demands, they were forced to resort to peaceful protest across the state, they said. “The government kept on promising us to look into the demand for four months. But no step has been taken on our demands till date. As per the decision of the OSSTA, we sat on dharna in front of the DEO offices,” said Bijay Kumar Behera, secretary of OSSTA’s Ganjam chapter.

Their demands include extension of retirement age of teachers to 62 years and release of grants to eligible high schools. The agitating teachers warned of intensifying their agitation by staging indefinite dharna, if their demands are not fulfilled soon.