Declare teachers as "corona warriors", provide compensation for deaths: Kumaraswamy

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said over 145 teachers who had taken part in poll and other duties have died due to COVID-19 in the Kalyana Karnataka region alone and urged the government to consider them as corona warriors and provide Rs 50 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased.

The former Karnataka Chief Minister in a series of tweets accused the government of negligence and carelessness towards teachers.

"More than 145 teachers from the Kalyana Karnataka region, who had taken part in poll duty and took classes under the Vidyagama programme of the govt, have died due to COVID- 19. The statistics regarding the death of teachers in other regions of the state are still not available," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

"I urge the government to consider all the teachers, who died due to the pandemic, as corona warriors and grant an immediate compensation of Rs 50 lakh to their families," he said adding, several teachers from other regions too have lost their lives while abiding by the instructions of the government to take part in duty.

Amid reports of teachers succumbing to the COVID-19 infection after by-election duty in Basavakalyan and Maski Assembly constituencies and Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency last month, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar had recently directed officials to submit a report.

Noting that teachers should be considered corona warriors and the government, which deputed them either on poll duty or any other responsibility, should own up the responsibility for their deaths, Kumaraswamy said it is a matter of concern that thousands of teachers in the state are suffering from COVID.

"I condemn the negligent attitude and carelessness of the government about teachers who actually build the future. I demand that the government must take immediate measures to declare teachers as corona warriors and grant compensation to their families without any delay," he added.