PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Unemployed nursing graduates postponed their ongoing protest on Wednesday after the Director General of Health Dr Sunita Tamta wrote to the Health secretary seeking a policy decision on year-wise recruitment and reforms in future nursing officer selections.
The protesters stated that their agitation has been deferred for one month. If no action is taken on their demands within that period, they plan to resume the protest.
It is important to mention that the unemployed nursing graduates have been demonstrating at Ekta Vihar under the banner of Nursing Ekta Manch (NEM) for a significant time. Recently, they held a 22-day hunger strike due to their demands remained unaddressed. When no steps were taken, they intensified their protest by climbing a water tank at Parade Ground.
The Nursing graduates are demanding a transparent recruitment process that prioritises candidates based on seniority which is based on completing their qualifying examinations and other issues.
The president of NEM, Naval Pundir said that they have been demonstrating for a long time in pursuit of their demands. On Friday, the DG Health sent a letter regarding their demands to the Health secretary. He said that even the Health minister assured them that some action would be taken regarding their concerns. Therefore, they have decided to postpone their ongoing protest for one month. He warned that if the authorities do not take action on their demands after one month, the unemployed nursing graduates will gather again and continue the protest.
Notably, the president of the Uttarakhand Mahila Congress Jyoti Rautela joined the protesters by climbing the tank.
