City teachers return from J&K poll duty

LUCKNOW: Rashid Ahmad said a little prayer to God as soon as he set foot at Amausi Airport on Thursday. His elder brother, who had come to receive him, could scarcely control his emotions and hugged him tightly, saying: “Thank God you are back fit and fine.� Sweets were distributed and the family members celebrated the return of their ‘brave son’.
Ahmad was not returning from the war-front. Rather, he was one among the thousands of Urdu teachers who were sent to Jammu and Kashmir for election duties by the Election Commission. As one by one these brave teachers were flown back to the state capital in Army aircraft, joy was writ large on their faces. But most of them were bitter about the Election Commission and vowed never to take on the responsibilities of election duties again.
The reason according to Muhammad Arif of Bahraich, was that neither was the food provided up to the mark nor were there proper arrangements for boarding and lodging. “We had gone to the ‘Valley of Death’, risking our lives,� he said. However, still in the cold atmosphere out there authorities did not even provide us with enough blankets for the night. Jamsher, of Khiri, while recalling the fierce terrorist strikes and the ‘gloomy’ mood in the Valley, said that it was only their luck, which had held out and saved them from the terrorists bullets. However, the manner in which extremists were targeting innocent civilians and security forces was frightening, and anything could have happened to them, he said. “At least we are not going to take part in any other election exercise now, even if the government offers us high allowances,� said another teacher.
Over 1,000 employees who arrived in the last two days, belonged to the districts of Bahriach, Sultanpur, Barabanki, Khiri, Gonda, Kanpur and Balrampur. The government have made arrangements for buses, for their journey to their home districts. Over 2,700 state government employees from 27 districts, which included diploma engineers, teachers of polytechnics and Urdu teachers and translators, were sent to Jammu and Kashmir for election duties.
They were given between Rs 12,000 to 15,000 as honoraria, for their services and were also provided life insurance in case of death while on duty. Most of them had initially refused to go, but when the state government warned of strict action, they were forced to go. There were around 230 employees from the city. The issue had also acquired political overtones, with four Samajwadi Party MLAs lodging a protest with the Election Commission.