Force used to remove protesting health workers, authorities deny
    Date :04-Dec-2020

Neelam Park _1  
 
 
Staff Reporter :
 
IN another alleged inhumane behaviour of the administration and that of police, health care workers, who gave relentless services amid corona pandemic and were demanding job reinstatement, were lathicharged and sent to jail on Thursday. However, the administration has denied all claims of lathicharge. Teshsildar (city circle) Devendra Chaudhary said, “Police did not resort to lathicharge. Health workers were removed from Neelam Park. Nearly 30-35 were sent to jail.” The police said that the demonstrators were given permission only till December 2 for the protest and that the venue was allotted for gas victims on December 3.
 
Initially, the healthcare workers were told to vacate the venue but owing to their adamant behaviour, the cops used force and sent them to jail. Notably, more than 6,000 healthcare workers, including nursing staff, paramedical staff and doctors, were appointed by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) on contract basis untill November 30. As their contracts ended in November, a sit-in protest was organised at Neelam Park demanding job reinstatement. They tried to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan but they were not given time.
 
They had already met Health Minister Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary. Yogesh Raghvanshi, one of corona health workers, said, “We were peacefully demonstrating there as we were given permission till 4 pm, but police resorted to lathicharge at around 3 pm. Nearly 30 colleagues, including two pregnant women, were injured and around hundred were jailed.”