Daijiworld Media Network -Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Mar 5: Eight guest lecturers from north Karnataka, aggrieved at the government's apathy towards their long-pending demand, have written to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to intervene in the matter of meeting their demands. They have also said that they would commit suicide en masse in front of the mini Vidhan Soidja at Chikkodi, Belagavi district on March 12, if the state government fails to keep up its earlier promises and meet their demands.

In the said letter, they have said that state chief minister, Siddaramaiah, and higher education minister, T B Jayachandra, would be responsible for their deaths. "We have been paid paltry amounts as salaries, although we have been serving our institutions diligently as guest lecturers since several years. Even that salary is not paid in time. We do not have job security, and demand for confirming our services has not received positive response of the officials. We are being dealt with like animals," the lecturers, identified as Dr K Siddappa K Dhale, Dr H A Bhogale, Ajeeth B Koli, Uttam A Kamble, Sneha Kinnavar, Rekha Y Hanabar, and Vani Dambal, said in their letter.

They have noted that the government pays a salary of Rs 9,000 to 14,531 guest lecturers working in government first grade colleges of the state for ten months every year.

In the past, the guest lecturers had held a huge protest in support of their demands in the city. As the government failed to come up with any assurances during the house sessions, Association of Guest Lecturers, said they have decided to boycott academic activities and organize mass hunger strike in the city in near future. Honorary president of the association, B Rajashekharamurty, in a release, said that the lecturers will undertake hunger strike as the government has not even announced the minimum salary of Rs 25,000 per month to guest lecturers as demanded, and providing them permanent employment, duly noting that the assembly session will end on Saturday. He said that minister, Jayachandra, had promised to hold meeting of officials on March 2, hold discussion with chief minister, and then discuss the matter with office bearers of the association. The association had asked him to make the government's stand clear during the assembly session," he stated.

About the letter addressed to the Prime Minister, president of the association, N Srinivasachar, said that the letter was sent by lecturers in their individual capacities and not on behalf of the association. He requested the lecturers to review their decision, and committing suicide will not solve the problem.