After assurance given by Health Minister Naba Kishore Das to fulfil four -point charter of demands, the ten -day long agitation by sanitation workers under the banner of Ghasi Samaj was withdrawn on Tuesday.
Sources said that Jay Bhim Ghasi Samaj has been demanding running of Old District Headquarters Hospital with 24 hours service to the patients by holding agitation since July 27. As a result, the condition of the city was very miserable. On August 3, the Samaj and Citizen Forum jointly had held Jharsuguda bandh which was also successful. All shops, educational institutions, banks, Government and private offices were closed along with vehicular traffic.
Due to death of a nine months' old child in the DHH, the Ghasi Samaj had started the agitation.
Even after Bandh call, the demands could not be fulfilled for which the agitation was continuing. However, on Wednesday, Health Minister Das visited Jharsuguda to discuss with the agitators.
The discussion took place in the presence of district Collector Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan, SP Aswini Mohanty, CDMO Kousalya Pradhan,
WESCO Executive Engineer Dwitiya Gardia and attended by all the district-level officers.
The Ghasi Samaj putforth their demands for compensation to the family of the deceased child, releasing the arrested agitators unconditionally and giving salary to the sanitation workers for the strike period.
The Minister assured to fulfil all the demands as per rules after which the agitation was called off.