Patna turned into a battleground of protest on Tuesday with the state government facing a wave of public anger weeks ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.
From aspiring teachers and disaster relief volunteers to ex-servicemen driving emergency vehicles, the streets of the state capital echoed with chants, placards, and demands. With rising discontent over job insecurity, unpaid wages, and shrinking vacancies, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s administration is feeling the heat from all corners.
Thousands of teacher candidates took to the streets demanding that the notification for the BPSC TRE 4 be issued with 1.2 lakh vacancies. They also demanded that the BPSC TRE 4 notification be released before the dates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections are announced.
To stop the protesters, the police and the administration put up barricades. However, when the situation got out of control, the police used force to disperse the protesters injuring several of them.
Student leader Dilip alleged that the government had promised to recruit 50,000 teachers, increased the number to 80,000, and eventually 1.2 lakh posts. However, once the domicile rule was implemented, the number of seats was cut down to 27,910.
Education Minister Sunil Kumar has stated that only about 26,000 posts will be filled in the fourth phase of the recruitment. He has stated that the exam will be held in December 2025 and results will be released in January 2026.
Drivers of the Dial-112 emergency service in Bihar, largely ex-servicemen, marched from Gardanibagh to Kargil Chowk, demanding better pay, improved working conditions, and recognition as state employees.
Meanwhile, a large number of ‘Aapda Mitra’ protested in Patna demanding that the government make their positions permanent and pay them a monthly salary of Rs26,910. They also demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation to the families of those who die on duty.
Roshan Kumar, state president of Aapda Mitra Organisation, said there are nearly 96,000 ‘Aapda Mitra’ in the state, the trained community volunteers in basic disaster response as part of the central government scheme under the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). They have not been paid nor have their services been regularised.