PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Unemployed nursing graduates, under the banner of Nursing Ekta Manch (NEM) intensified their protest on Wednesday by holding a protest outside the residence of the Health minister Subodh Uniyal. During the demonstration, one of the protesters allegedly attempted suicide by drinking disinfectant (Phenyl). She was rushed to the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital. The hospital authorities informed that her condition is stable.
The president of Uttarakhand Mahila Congress Jyoti Rautela also joined the protest and demanded that the government should accept the demand of the nursing graduates.
Later in the day, the police forcibly lifted the protesters and Rautela from outside the residence of the minister. One member of the NEM said that their delegation met the Health minister Uniyal and sought cancellation of the Nursing recruitment examination scheduled on July 25 and 26. He said that the minister indicated that he would consider their demands but did not provide any definitive answers. The protesters stressed that time was running out, as the examination date was approaching so the minister should immediately cancel the examination. However the talks proved inconclusive and the NEM staged a Dharna outside the residence of the minister.
It is important to mention that the unemployed nursing graduates have been protesting for several months to demand a transparent recruitment process that prioritises candidates based on seniority after they complete their qualifying examinations, along with the resolution of other related issues.
Previously, after no action was taken on their demands, the protesters escalated their agitation by climbing a water tank at the Parade Ground. Following this event, the Director General of Health forwarded their demands to the Health secretary. In response to the attention the protests received, the demonstrators postponed their agitation for a month.
