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.
