Unemployed nursing graduates continue protest atop water tank, block road with children
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Unemployed nursing graduates under the banner of Nursing Ekta Manch (NEM), have threatened to intensify their ongoing agitation if the government fails to address their long-pending demands. The protest, which entered its 159th day on Tuesday, saw tensions escalate further when demonstrators climbed the overhead water tank at Parade Ground on Monday, completing many hours of their sit-in with no response from the authorities thus far. On Tuesday evening, the protesters also blocked the road with some of them also carrying their children.
The protesters have been staging demonstrations at Ekta Vihar for several days and recently undertook a hunger strike for 22 days after their demands remained unmet. After seeing inaction on their demands, they escalated the protest by climbing the water tank. The NEM protesters are advocating for a transparent recruitment process that prioritizes candidates based on seniority after they complete their qualifying examinations, among other issues.
Commenting on the recent escalation of their agitation, the NEM president Naval Pundir stated that they have been protesting for their long-standing demands for a considerable time, but the authorities have not taken any action. He said that the demonstrators reached Parade Ground early on Monday morning where some climbed the water tank to continue their demonstration. Pundir said that the president of the Uttarakhand Mahila Congress, Jyoti Rautela also joined them in their protest by climbing the tank. Along with Rautela, four other protesters continued to remain atop the water tank on Tuesday as well. He alleged that police personnel prevented them from supplying drinking water to the protesters atop the water tank. He informed that on Monday evening, they were called to meet Health minister Subodh Uniyal. During the meeting, Uniyal stated that in the written criteria for nursing recruitment, they will be given 10 marks. Pundir said that they rejected this 10-mark incentive. He also said that Uniyal said a meeting would be scheduled with the officials concerned regarding their demands.
The NEM chief expressed frustration, stating that no decision had been taken on their demand despite many hours of protesting atop the water tank. He warned that they will escalate the protest further if authorities did not take prompt action on their demands. No breakthrough had been reached till the time of this report being filed.
