Schoolteachers in Uttar Pradesh have been drafted into a door-to-door Covid awareness-cum-survey programme, exposing them to the coronavirus, just when hundreds of teachers have died of the infection after being put on panchayat poll duty.
The aggrieved teachers, deployed in the May 5-9 programme, are asking why they must be the sacrificial lambs every time and why the government can’t instead enlist BJP workers who style themselves “chowkidars (watchmen)” like their supreme leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Four lakh teachers, Asha workers (part-time rural health workers) and Anganwadi (rural childcare and maternity care) workers will form 2 lakh teams of 2 each to cover the state’s population of over 20 crore. Each team will cover an area of about 1,000 people.