Patna, April 9 (IANS) Over 2.5 lakh contractual primary school teachers in Bihar began an indefinite strike on Thursday, demanding pay at par with regular teachers and better working conditions.

Santosh Kumar, an agitating teacher, said thousands of teachers on contract, who were paid much less than regular teaching staff appointed by the government, were up in arms against the apathy of the state government.

"Now, it has become a matter of 'do or die' for us. We will not teach in the schools," he said.

Another teacher said hundreds of the 72,000 primary schools in the state were "locked" in protest, a day after talks with Bihar Education Minister P.K. Shahi were cancelled due to chaos at the meeting venue.

The opposition BJP legislators raised the issue in the assembly and announced their support for the teachers.

"We have demanded a statement from the government," Leader of Opposition Nand Kishore Yadav said.