PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The official protest site at Ekta Vihar is suffering from lack of sanitation and maintenance issues. The protest of the unemployed nursing graduates under the banner of Nursing Ekta Manch (NEM) PRD jawans and Medical Lab technologist Association is currently underway at the site.
Speaking on the issue, NEM president Naval Pundir said the protest site has become unbearable. He stated that there is no shed provided for them and the NEM has installed a shed for its members. Besides this, mobile toilets have been set up at the protest site. Of the six toilet seats in the mobile toilets, only two are usable and the rest are damaged. Apart from the mobile toilets, four permanent toilets are also there at the site, but only one is functional.
He further said that cleaning of these toilets is also not held regularly. Pundir added that 200 to 250 people use these toilets daily, yet no cleaning is done and the concerned authorities remain indifferent. He also stressed that a drain is located at the protest site without boundaries, so during rainfall all its water enters the site. Bushes at the site and presence of mosquitoes has raised the risk of dengue. He added that snakes have also been spotted in these bushes in the past few days.
Pundir said they have contacted authorities about site maintenance many times, but no action has been observed. He said due to no sanitation in toilets, female protesters earlier have also suffered from infections. He appealed that authorities should look into this matter and ensure maintenance of the protest site.
