John Wilbert
Port Blair, May 29: Dozens of youths gathered at Secretariat Parking in Port Blair this morning to protest against the Administration. Led by Mr. VK Abdul Aziz, Zilla Parishad Member of Wimberlygunj, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Lall and Mr. Abdul Gafoor, youths demanded direct payment for workers in the Health Department without involving any third party. They also demanded filling up of all vacant posts in Education Department and age relaxation to those who are working in the Health Department for a long time on contract or on part-time basis.
Later in the afternoon, the youth marched in a rally towards Tiranga Park, where they began a peaceful sit-in demonstration (Dharna Pardharsan).
Responding to the protest, the Secretary of Health and Education called the protesters to address their grievances at approximately 3:00 PM. After the meeting, Mr. Abdul Aziz stated that they met with the Secretary of Health, Mr. Arjun Sharma and the Secretary of Education, Mr. Yash Chaudhary, who listened to their concerns and promised to look into the matter.
Mr. Aziz further mentioned that they would wait for 15 days to see positive outcomes from the secretaries. If their demands were not met, they would escalate their protests more forcefully.
One of the staff members from ANIIMS expressed their frustration, stating that they had been working for over six years. Previously, they received payment directly from the department. However, in the past few years, they had been outsourced to a private company. Now, they are experiencing delayed payments and are not receiving fair salary for their work. They also expressed concerns about job security and urged the administration to bring them back under the department’s purview, along with the promotion of one-third of the staff.
