PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
With their longstanding demands remaining unmet, the Medical Laboratory Technologists Association of Uttarakhand has decided to march to the chief minister’s residence on July 31. The general secretary of the association, Mayank Rana, informed that they have been peacefully staging a sit-in at Ekta Vihar, Dehradun, for the past 73 days, pressing for the fulfillment of their four legitimate demands.
Their demands include the creation of Medical Laboratory Technologist posts in accordance with Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), framing of service rules and ensuring regular annual merit-based recruitment for B Sc Medical Laboratory Technology (B Sc MLT) graduates. They are demanding a one-time age relaxation for eligible candidates who have exceeded the upper age limit due to prolonged delays in recruitment as well as an end to the privatisation and outsourcing of government laboratory services, with regular appointments to sanctioned government posts, he said.
Rana further stated that despite receiving support from several organisations, healthcare professionals and social groups, the government is dithering. “No officials have cared to visit us for the past few days and so no dialogue has been held to break the impasse,” he said.
Warning of indefinite sit-in, he said that they were all set to march to the CM’s residence on Friday. “Medical Laboratory Technologists, B Sc MLT graduates and students from across Uttarakhand are expected to participate in large numbers to submit our legitimate demands to the government,” he said, adding that they would gather at Gandhi Park around 10: 30AM and commence the march from there.
“Earlier also we staged a march towards the CM’s residence and made numerous attempts to secure appointments to meet him, but we were unsuccessful,” he added.
