Police foil protest plan of ambulance staffers
SAMBALPUR: Police took 66 members of Odisha Ambulance Service Employees’ Union (OASEU) into preventive custody who were setting out for by-poll-bound Bijepur to stage protest at a public meeting of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Barpali in neighbouring Bargarh district.Organising secretary of OASEU Sasanka Sekhar Barik said they have been on strike over various demands for the last more than 60 days. But the Government has turned a deaf ear to their demands, he said.
Barik said the OASEU members were taken into preventive custody near Nelson Mandela Chowk from where they would have gone to the public meeting venue of the Chief Minister at Barpali. The OASEU members had launched a dharna in front of the office of Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Northern Division) here on December 20 last year demanding payment of overtime, yearly increment, food allowance and removal of Ziqitza Health Care Limited, the private firm which has partnered with the State Government to manager and operate the 108 ambulance service.
Police had arrested 358 agitating OASEU members under the Essential Services Maintenance Act. Subsequently, they staged protest in front of the RDC (ND) office demanding unconditional release of their colleagues on January 8. However, police resorted to lathicharge to disperse them and arrested 14 persons after they tired to barge into the RDC office. Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Sambalpur Sadar Mihir Panda said police took OASEU members into preventive custody as they had declared to stage protest at CM’s meeting venue at Barpali. However, they were later released, he added.