NRHM workers lathi-charged at Lambi
Thursday, 26/03/2015
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=127478&boxid=58038&uid=&dat=2015-03-26
Bathinda: Over half-a-dozen agitating NRHM workers, including women, on Wednesday sustained injuries after the Police cane charged them at Lambi village of Muktsar district to check them moving towards the Chief Minister’s residence in nearby located Badal village.
Later, in the evening, the district authorities informed the protesters that their demand to meet Chief Minister was accepted and the CM office had fixed the meeting for March 27.
For past over a week, demanding the regularization of their services, the staff employed under different categories of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was on pen-strike but the authorities had not taken any serious note of the agitation, as the protester claimed.
Finding the government not ready to pay heed to their ‘justified’ demand, they held a rally at Lambi village on Wednesday where hundreds of their colleagues assembled under the banner of NRHM Employees Union. The leaders of the union claimed that there were over 10,000 persons working under the NRHM in Punjab with a mention that despite their recruitment held through proper procedure they were working on the ‘meager’ salaries for not be on regular pay scale.
After holding speeches and urging the officials present there to get them have an appointment with the CM to discuss the matter, the agitators opted to march towards the CM residence at Badal village, located at about 6 kms.
On seeing them marching towards the CM residence, an already alert administration swung into action. To disperse them Police opened water cannon and even charged them with lathis.
