101 days on, teacher atop tower in Patiala fails to move govt

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 29

Various political parties, including that in power, are so busy preparing for the coming state elections that they couldn’t see the plight of 36-year-old Surinder Pal who has completed 101 days atop a 260-foot mobile tower. He has been on an indefinite fast since June 20.

Surinder, who is from a poor Dalit family, is nearly unconscious and has refused to climb down until his demands are met. His demands include preference to ETT, TET applicants over BEd aspirants in the recruitment of 2,364 posts of ETT teacher in the Education Department.

Initial visits to the protest site by the leaders of some Opposition parties were seemingly for photo-ops because none could sustain his or her support to the protesting teachers.

The unemployed teachers’ protest near Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s farmhouse at Siswan in Mohali couldn’t draw his attention towards Surinder.

Deepak Kamboj, who met the teacher on Tuesday, said he seemed to have decided to sacrifice his life for the cause. It is unfortunate that an unemployed youth had to climb atop a mobile tower, where one needed binoculars to see him, and couldn’t grab the attention of the government. “He was very sick but refused to climb down. The government should immediately intervene,” he said.

‘He was very sick’

Deepak Kamboj, who met the teacher atop the mobile tower on Tuesday, said he seemed to have decided to sacrifice his life for a cause. It is unfortunate that an unemployed youth had to climb atop a mobile tower, where one needed binoculars to see him, and couldn’t grab the attention of the government. “He was very sick but refused to climb down. The government should immediately intervene,” he said.