Protest ends amid high drama

The district administration and police were on the their toes on Friday as agitating contractual workers of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scaled the overhead water tank located near parade ground. The harried administration, however, heaved a sigh of relief when on the assurance of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at Chief Minister’s officer Anand Bahuguna, the agitated RMSA workers agreed to descend from the over head tank in the evening ending hours-long drama.

The president of the association of office/laboratory assistants RMSA, Gambhir Singh Bisht said Bahuguna assured that Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani would look into their matter on Saturday. 

Bisht said a delegation of association would meet the CM and education minister at Bijapur Guest house.Bisht said members of the association took the extreme step of scaling the overhead water tank as the State Government is not heeding to their demands.

The Education Department had terminated the services of 1,256 outsource employees as the Central Government had stopped funding their salaries in March. The association is demanding that the State Government should bear the entire cost of their contractual appointment now. Bisht said the arbitrary decision of removal by the State Government has put the livelihood of hundreds of people in jeopardy. He said 1,256 office and laboratory assistants were working in different parts of the State from the last three years and the Government’s decision has forced them to protest.