AURANGABAD: The Jalna police have booked about 150 contractual health workers who gathered outside the state health minister’s house and demanded to be reinstated to service.
The health workers, wearing their respective uniforms including aprons, reached the minister’s bungalow located in the Rishi Park area and started shouting slogans. They said their services should be regularised and they should be absorbed to fill about 16,000 vacant posts across the state.
Soon, the police teams rushed to the spot to ensure that there is no law and order situation. As the protest went on for about two hours, the police tried to disperse the crowd. This led to a heated argument between the police and the agitators. After the agitators were assured that their grievances would be conveyed to the minister, they complied.
Subsequently, the Jalna police registering an offence against the agitators for violation of social distancing and other Covid-19 related norms, apart from holding a protest without prior permission from the police.
Police officials justified the action saying that like in other districts in the state, the Jalna administration too has imposed restrictions on all social, political or religious gatherings beyond the permissible limit. Also, prior police permission is mandatory.
The health workers, who were hired to serve during the peak period of the two Covid-19 waves, were sacked on July 1. The move did not go down well with the workers. They had expected that they would be hired and their services would be regularized during the recruitment drive that the state government is planning to carry out.
On June 30, district collector Ravindra Binwade, citing communication from the public health department, cut short the services of the contractual workers hired and posted at all the DCH and DCHC across the district.
Those who have been sacked in the Jalna district include 113 doctors apart from a few hundred nurses and Class IV employees. As per the contract of these health workers, their contractual services were to last till September 30.
