Police arrests yet another 16 COTA members including two state awardees

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By A Staff Reporter
IMPHAL Jan 23: Police have arrested yet another 16 Council of Teachers’ 
Association (COTA) members today as the teachers demanding payment of 
6th pay commission in totality entered the fifth day of its Fast unto 
death protest.

A press release by Sirajuddin Shah, publicity convenor of the 
organization states that there were five female teachers among the 
teachers arrested today. He also maintained that of the five arrested 
female teachers, two are state awardees identified as Y Manisangbi and L 
Chaobi.

The arrested teachers including 11 male teachers other than the five 
female teachers have been further placed under judicial custody at the 
Sajiwa and Central jail. 

It has further maintained that another 12 teachers were arrested earlier 
totaling the numbers of teachers arrested since the start of the fast 
unto death including today’s arrest up to 28 persons.

In the meantime, undaunted by the police act another team of 18 teachers 
are carrying on with the fast.

The release further added that more are eagerly waiting for their turn 
to join the strike and will continue till the government grant their 
demand.

It has further appealed to the government to grant their demands instead 
of arresting the teachers and further added that the stands of the 
teachers have been intimated to the Registrar General of India and the 
Census Director.

The release appealed to the members to attend a meeting scheduled to be 
held on January 25 to further chalk out the form of protest and to 
mediate with the government.

It may be recalled that the council had started their various forms of 
agitations from early August starting with cease work strike by the 
teachers in the state following the failure of the Ibobi government to 
act on its commitment that had assured the implementation of the 6th 
Central Revised pay for the government teachers after signing of an MOU 
with representatives of the council in the presence of former education 
minister L Jayenta Kumar on April 14 last year.

The cease work strike of the teachers had completely paralyzed academic 
atmosphere in both hill and valley districts of the state for more than 
four months in the state. Council only withdrew their cease-work strike 
in November last year after holding talk with the state government on 
November 24 last year on the insistence of various guardians’ and 
students’ organization. However since the talk was unable to bring any 
solution to their demands, they retorted to holding sit in protest. The 
teachers had further started a relay hunger strike on January 14 after 
another round of talks with the state government on January 13 failed to 
bear any favorable result. The present Fast unto Death started on 
January 19 and has been continuing since then.
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