Fast to continue till govt meets demands: Teachers' body in WB

The indefinite fast by a section of primary teachers in West Bengal seeking a pay hike entered the 13th day on Thursday even as state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee assured them that the government was looking for a solution to the impasse.

The agitators, under the banner of Usthi United Primary Teachers' Welfare Association, have also sought the revocation of a state government order transferring 14 of their colleagues to faraway places.

Pritha Biswas, the spokesperson of the association, said the teachers are waiting for an official communication from the government on the matter.

"To this date, there has been no official communication from the state regarding our demands. We only get to hear the comments made by the education minister during his interactions with mediapersons," Biswas said on Thursday.

Chatterjee had told reporters on Wednesday that the state government will certainly think about "hiking the pay scale of the primary teachers, keeping in mind two factors - their educational qualification and the fiscal condition of state exchequer".

He accused the BJP and the CPI(M) of "unnecessarily politicising the issue for personal gains"