DUTA stir opposes Delhi govt’s grants freeze move

PATNA: Train services were temporarily suspended on the Samastipur-darbhanga and Gaya-koderma routes in Bihar due to continuing heavy rains on Saturday morning. Some trains from the Ara-sasaram-pandit Deendayal Upadhayay junction were also cancelled following water logging on the tracks, a railway official said.

Rajesh Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of

East Central Railway (ECR), said the train services have been temporarily suspended on the Samastipur-darbhanga rail section. “Several trains have been affected,” he said.

According to Kumar, heavy rains have stalled rail traffic on Gaya-koderma route for five hours and services resumed at 7.30 on Saturday morning.

The state Disaster Management Department officials said heavy rains have affected normal life across the state since Thursday and many districts are facing floods. A red alert was sounded in the state on Friday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the next three days in 14 of the state’s 38 districts.

“In view of alert, all the government and private run schools have been ordered shut till September 29 in these districts,” officials said.

Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Pratyay Amrit said he has alerted all the district’s where heavy to extremely heavy rains are expected on Saturday and Sunday. “I have asked the district officials to be fully prepared to face any situation,” he said.

Water Resources Department officials said water levels in all the rivers in the state were rising leading to inundation in towns and rural areas and putting pressure on the embankments.

According to officials, water gushed into dozens of villages in Muzaffarpur, West Champaran, East Champaran, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) launched a protest on Saturday against the state government’s decision to stop grants to Delhi University (DU) colleges that are 100% funded by the government. The Delhi government’s move to freeze grants has led to the non-payment of salaries to over 2,000 teaching and other staff working in these colleges.

The Delhi government’s directive to stop funding in 28 colleges—12 are fully funded, while 16 are partially funded by the Delhi government—came in April, allegedly due to a tussle between the Delhi government and the DU administration over the formation of governing bodies. The 16 colleges that are partially funded by the Delhi government are managing to disburse salaries on time, but the rest of the 12 colleges are not being able to give salaries to their employees.

These 12 colleges are facing a severe financial crunch and finding it difficult to pay salaries and develop infrastructure. The issue of formation of governing bodies has resulted in an impasse between the DU and the city government, with both accusing each other of delaying the process.

Earlier, Manish Sisodia, education minister of the Delhi government, had alleged that since the term of the governing bodies ended many months ago, the university administration has been delaying the formation of new governing bodies in these colleges.

The term of governing body members in all the 28 colleges has ended and these colleges are functioning under truncated governing bodies for more than 10 months.

Teachers of several colleges have said that they have not got their salaries for over two months and many colleges are diverting funds meant for students to pay salaries to their employees. However, such a situation is not new and a similar directive by the Delhi government in 2017 had led to a crisis in payment of salaries in all the 12 fully-funded DU colleges.

Sudhanshu Kumar, a DU teacher, told The Sunday Guardian: “This is unfortunate that teachers are suffering because of the persistent internal tussle of the DU administration and Delhi government over the formation of governing bodies. I accept that the DU administration should initiate the formation of governing bodies in all Delhi government funded colleges, but this can’t be the ground for punishing teachers and not paying their salaries. We teachers appeal to the Delhi University Teachers’ Association to launch an agitation if the Delhi government does not release funds immediately.”

Another teacher, who did not wish to be named, said: “The situation has reached a crisis level; we have been facing the salary issue for more than two years. Teachers and college staff are not responsible for the governing bodies not being formed yet, then why should they be punished? The festive season is near, but we haven’t got our salaries and it has become difficult to manage expenses.”

The 12 colleges that are 100% funded by the Delhi government include Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Science, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Shaheed Raj Guru College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Bhagini Nivedita College, Keshav Maha Vidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Mahirishi Balmiki College of Education and Bhaskara Charya College of Applied Science.