Concern Over Field Safety: Memorandum Submitted Seeking Protection and Awareness Training for Census Personnel

Betnoti, April 23: As the state government has initiated the census drive, a memorandum has been submitted to the BDO of Betnoti block on Monday, demanding proper security arrangements for teachers and other employees engaged in census work, along with the creation of widespread public awareness.
According to reports, last week, a teacher engaged in census duties had gone to Ambajoda village on the outskirts of Betnoti to conduct house enumeration. During this time, an intoxicated युवक verbally abused the teacher using obscene language, threatened him, and physically assaulted him. The teacher later filed a written complaint at Betnoti police station, following which the police registered a case and arrested the . However, as the action taken against the accused was considered insufficient, census  including teachers, have expressed feelings of insecurity.
In the memorandum, it has been demanded that adequate safety measures be ensured for officials and staff during census duties. It also called for extensive awareness campaigns at the grassroots level involving elected representatives. Additionally, it suggested that census work be carried out jointly with workers from ICDS and the Health Department.
Teachers engaged across various panchayats of Betnoti block have submitted this memorandum separately to the District Collector, SP, SDPO, police authorities, and the BDO.
On this occasion, several members of the OSSTA teachers’ association were present, including District Secretary Kishore Kumar Acharya, Betnoti Block Secretary Suryananda Nayak, Sarat Kumar Mohanta, Bhavesh Panigrahi, Sapan Mohapatra, Manmath Mohanta, Rajkomal Sathua, Jayanta Mohanta, among others.