Around a hundred of managers of Vanopaj Sahkari Samitis (Forest produce cooperative committees) demonstrating in front of State forest Minister Vikram Usendi were arrested by police on Thursday morning.
These officials have been demanding regularisation of their services for quite some time as the administration kept the issue delaying through promise after promises.
About six hundred managers of forest produce cooperative committees are in State capital demonstrating in support of their demand for service regularisation. They also held several rounds of talks with leaders and Government officers but when no result came out of these talks, they are now observing indefinite strike for the last six days.
According to president of Vanopaj Sahkari Samiti Prabandhak Sangh Raju Soni, Wednesday evening they had held a talk with forest minister Vikram Usendi in which the latter had called them to his residence Thursday morning for another round of talks. On Thursday morning when around 100 Samiti managers reached the residence of the forest minister, they were not called for talk for an hour after which they started demonstrating in front of the minister’s house. In the meantime, CSP Rakesh Kumar Bhatt and Civil lines TI Dev Sthale reached the spot with a police posse and arrested the demonstrating forest officials.
Meanwhile office bearers of the Vanopaj Samiti Prabandhak Sangh warned that if they are not released immediately by the police then their colleagues sitting at Dharna Sthal would also court arrest after reaching the Thana. They claimed that they are all working in Vanopaj Sahkari Samitis which conduct the purchase-sale of all minor forest produce in the state.
The Vanopaj Sahkari Samiti officials alleged that they are working on daily wage and due to meagre payment facing trouble even in maintenance of the family and therefore demanding regularisation of service.