With their main demands pertaining to various facilities not being considered for fulfilment, teaching staff of University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, who are on indefinite strike for a week now, have resolved to continue the agitation.
General Secretary of UAS Teachers Welfare Association Mahantesh Naik said on Monday that Vice-Chancellor of UAS, Dharwad, M.B. Chetti had not responded positively to their demands. “Consequently, we are forced to continue the agitation in front of the administrative building of the university. There is no question of withdrawing the protest till our legitimate demands are met,” he said.
Prof. Naik said that they were aware of the fact that the final decision on some of the demands raised by them should be decided after discussion at a meeting of the Board of Management Council. However, the Vice-Chancellor had not yet convened the board meeting, he said.
The agitation by the teaching staff of UAS, Dharwad, has received support from various quarters. On Sunday, Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti chaired a meeting on the issue. However, according to the protesting staff, their demands were not being met.
Prof. Naik said that the rules of the ICMR and UGC were not being implemented in toto , resulting in deprivation of facilities to faculty members.
On October 4, teachers associated with University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, and working in more than 34 post-graduate centres spread across seven districts of North Karnataka launched the agitation seeking fulfilment of their long-pending demands.
