Rabindranath Biswas
Diglipur/Mayabunder, Jan. 24: The retrenched Civil Defense Volunteers started an indefinite dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Mayabunder in the morning hours today.
As per report, the Civil Defense Volunteers (CDVs) who were engaged for three months in the month of Sept. 2021 by the A & N Administration were placed in Revenue dept., Govt. Hospitals in North & Middle Andaman District and they (CDVs) relentlessly rendered their service in COVID duties as well. However, after three months, they continued to work till April 2022 without payment but with the administration’s nod. And after providing their service at a stretch for four months in addition, they were paid three months’ salary and one month’s salary is still due.
Now it has elapsed almost two years now since they were retrenched and these unemployed youths have been running a hardscrabble life. And now they want that, at first their due payments are paid without further delay and their second demand is that they are re-engaged as CDVs as before. Remarkably, these sacked CDVs said that there are 83 CDVs working in the South Andaman District continuously since 2015, while a step-motherly attitude is being shown towards the sacked CVDs of N & M Andaman District by the Administration, they alleged. The sacked CVDs should be immediately re-engaged so that they may work in tandem with 83 CDVs who are working in the South Andaman District and then only their poverty and unemployment can be eliminated, they argued.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ankit Yadav, IAS, the Deputy Commissioner, N & M Andaman, Mayabunder visited the dharna site and gave a patient hearing to the grievances of the sacked CDVs. The Deputy Commissioner after hearing their grievance sounded sympathetic but told them that it lies with the higher authorities/planning department of the Andaman & Nicobar Administration to take decision to this effect. The DC also asked the protestors to withdraw their strike but, after being demoralised, the agitating youths/sacked CDVs coming from right Diglipur to Baratang and braving the cold weather at night declared to continue an indefinite dharna (day & night) until their demands are met, they said.
