After two retired teachers ended their lives and one is undergoing treatment following a suicide attempt, the Karnataka State Aided School, College Pension Deprived Employees Association, which has been protesting for the last 141 days in the city, on Sunday Temporarily called off the movement.
The move comes even after the state government promised a meeting on March 2 to review the demands of the association, though an appointment with the chief minister to discuss it has not taken place.
There is a demand of teachers of aided educational institutions that they should be included in the pension scheme. More than 10,000 such teachers are demanding inclusion.
The association, which launched the protest at Freedom Park here, did not get any response from the government till two retired teachers ended their lives. On February 22, a retired teacher from Sindhanur ended his life on the railway tracks in Malleswaram and left a death note in which he blamed lack of pension for his financial woes. The next day, two retired teachers attempted suicide near Freedom Park and one of them died a day later. Another teacher is undergoing treatment. Association president J. Hanumanthappa said, “The lack of response from the government for more than 140 days has left many protesters disheartened and depressed.” He said three others died of heart attacks during the protest.
The association has been fighting a long legal battle over the issue and it came to an impasse in 2014. Pension and Other Benefits) Act, 2014, with effect from February 12, 2014, which again deprived us of our rights. While a single judge of the Karnataka High Court struck down the act, a division bench stayed that in 2014 and since then the matter has not progressed,” Mr. Hanumanthappa said.
“The government has called a meeting on March 2 to discuss our demands. We will wait to see how it responds. If our demands are not met, we will start the agitation again and will continue the legal fight for it.
(People in distress or with suicidal tendencies can call Arogya Sahayavani Ph.: 104 for help.)