ATSUM threatens Manipur govt of state-wide bandh

The Manipur"All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM), on 23 September, threatened to call a state-wide strike on September 28 over the state government's failure to respond to the charter of demands submitted to the Chief Minister.

While talking to ANI, Taikura Hungyo, Information and Publicity Secretary, Manipur University Tribal Students Union, stated that a charter of demand has been submitted to the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, addressing the grievances of the tribal students on 17 August.

"The Chief Minister had appealed to the people of the state to express their grievances before calling any bandh or blockade, but the grievances of the ATSUM has not been responded till today," he said.

The charter of demand includes appointment of non- teaching and teaching faculties and to develop infrastructures at the educational

institutions in Hill district to do away with the culture of utilisation of teachers, establishment of residential schools in the hills, to develop infrastructure for the ZEOs offices, to rationalise teachers, to regularise adhoc teachers and to establish PHC centres in the entire hill districts.

Other demands included facilitation of computer examination centres in the Hill districts , to comply with the 31 percent reservation policy for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) students at Manipur University and to initiate reservation for ST candidates while recruitment of any government post.

Hungyo also said that the ATSUM will call a state-wide general strike on September 28 if the state government does respond to the sit-in-protest. 

-ANI