Teachers, Employees Protesting GO 317 Arrested

Hyderabad:As part of the state-wide protest against GO 317, teachers and government employees who participated in the ‘Chalo CM Home’ demonstration were arrested in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The Joint Action Committee for Employees and Teachers called for the protest to highlight their grievances on the transfers and allocation of jobs based on local status.

Protesters from several districts including Nalgonda, Nirmal, Adilabad and Warangal were detained by the police to prevent them from reaching the Chief Minister’s residence. Despite the police curbs, several teachers and employees managed to reach the vicinity, only to be promptly arrested by the police.

"Where is the promise made by the Chief Minister when he was the PCC president?" questioned Ravindra Naik, one of the protesters, referring to the assurance given by the Chief Minister to resolve GO 317 issues within 48 hours of forming a Congress government. "It hass been months, and the affected employees are still awaiting justice," he added.

The protesters also pointed out that the sub-committee formed by the Congress after assuming power declared that allocating jobs based on local status is not possible, despite months of deliberation. "How is it that after eight months of discussion, they find local status-based allocations unfeasible?" asked another aggrieved teacher Karuna Bijja.

The government staff expressed their disappointment that changes to GO 2018, which are essential for resolving the issues, have not yet been made. "We want the state government to take this matter up with the Centre immediately. We are tired of waiting for too long for the promised justice, some of the employees died in this wait too," lamented Mamata Koseri, one of the protesters.

Among the arrested were key organisers such as Vinay K. Ramesh, Hari, Vidyanand, Fareena and Suryakala, who demanded an immediate intervention by the Chief Minister to provide relief to the employees affected by GO 317. According to the Jubilee Hills police station, 14 people were detained but released after a few hours.