PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Unemployed nursing graduates under the banner of Nursing Ekta Manch (NEM) marched towards the chief minister’s residence on Thursday, demanding acceptance of their long-standing demands. They were stopped midway by police barricades. At one point, a protester attempted to harm himself with a sharp object, in a fit of frustration, but it was quickly snatched away from him.
The president of the Uttarakhand Mahila Congress, Jyoti Rautela joined the protest, urging the government to meet the demands of the nursing graduates.
The president of the NEM, Naval Pundir said that they have been raising these demands for a long time, yet no action has been taken. “We are frustrated over the lack of implementation for a year-wise (seniority-based) recruitment system, cancellation of the nursing recruitment exam and other unmet government assurances,” he added.
He further said that they were halted by police at the Hathibarkala barricade. “This led to a lengthy exchange of words between the police and the demonstrators. We wanted to meet the CM to present our case, but were not allowed to proceed further,” he stated.
Sharing more details, he said that finding them adamant to meet the CM, police had detained some of the agitators.
The protesters said that their just demands continued to be ignored. “Initially, the government signalled support for year-wise recruitment, but later they announced the date for the recruitment exam. We are utterly frustrated with the State government’s apathy,” a protestor said.
To recall, the unemployed nursing graduates, under the banner NEM, staged demonstration on Wednesday outside the residence of Health minister Subodh Uniyal. During this demonstration, four protesters allegedly attempted suicide by drinking disinfectant (Phenyl) and subsequently, one of them was rushed to Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Hospital.
