Odisha kendu leaf workers’ protest spills onto roads
SAMBALPUR: Vehicular traffic remained paralysed for around three hours in different parts of Western Odisha on Wednesday as kendu leaf pluckers and seasonal workers, staged road blockade protesting the State Government’s decision to abolish 24 kendu leaf range offices.
The blockade began at around 10 am and continued till 1 pm. Members of Odisha Kendupatra Karmachari Sangha (OKKS) blocked the road at Ainthapali Chowk in Sambalpur city and disrupted vehicular movement on NH-53and Sambalpur-Rourkela Biju Expressway. This apart, the agitators also staged road blockade at Jujumura, Rairakhol, Kuchinda and Jamankira in the district.
President of OKKS Bijay Mohanty said the State Government has taken a decision to abolish 24 kendu leaf range offices besides more than 50 kendu leaf sections and around 500 kendu leaf phadis (godown) under the range offices. As a result of this, around 2,000 seasonal workers including munsi (supervisor), checkers, head-checkers, circle-checkers, section watchers and thousands of kendu leaf pluckers will lose their jobs, he said.
Mohanty said the workers staged the agitation to oppose the move. Besides, they have been demanding hike in salary of seasonal workers and watchers, change in the sale policy of kendu leaf and complete waiver of GST from kendu leaf.
In Jharsuguda, kendu leaf pluckers and workers obstructed NH-49 and Biju Expressway at Prasanna Panda by-pass Chowk as a result of which communication from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh to Jharsuguda and Sundargarh to Sambalpur was disrupted.
The agitators handed over a memorandum to Additional Tehsildar Kabita Tirky, addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Their demands include hike in salary of seasonal staff and workers basing on minimum wage fixed by the Government and amendment of kendu leaf sale policy. After Tirky assured that their demands will be forwarded to the Chief Minister, the agitators called off the road blockade.
Members of OKKS also staged road blockade at different places of Bargarh, Deogarh, Balangir, Sundargarh, Nuapada, Subarnapur and Boudh districts over the issue.