PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Nursing Ekta Manch staged a protest in the Ekta Vihar area of Dehradun on Friday, with unemployed nursing graduates from across the State participating. The protest aimed to address their demands, which include transparency in the recruitment process for nursing officials, the immediate closure of the examination portal and other related issues.
Initially, the Manch held a protest at Parade Ground, but police personnel later moved them to Ekta Vihar, a designated protest area in Dehradun. As a result, the nursing officials continued their demonstration at Ekta Vihar, highlighting their unaddressed concerns.
The president of the Manch Naval Pundir stated that unemployed nursing graduates in the State have consistently voiced their demands for the recruitment of nursing officers in State hospitals, yet no action has been taken regarding these longstanding requests. He pointed out that a few years ago, a written examination was announced for recruiting nursing officials, but it was cancelled when authorities stated that the selection should be on the basis of year wise seniority of completing their qualifying examination.
Consequently, the recruitment process was shifted to be based on seniority rather than conducting a recruitment examination. The recent advertisement for nursing positions based on written exams has caused concern within the nursing community, as it is viewed as unfair to those who are now seniors.
Pundir alleged that the authorities are undermining the healthcare system in the State, emphasising that experienced nursing officials can provide more effective service than those with less experience. In light of this and acknowledging their unaddressed demands, over 500 unemployed nursing officials from across the State participated in the protest on Friday.
He stated that through this protest, they not only demand a seniority-based examination but also call for the immediate closure of the examination portal and other demands. These include a call for the recruitment of over 2,500 nursing positions annually according to IPHS standards. Additionally, special age relaxation should be provided to candidates who have surpassed the age limit due to long delays and priority should be given to candidates who are natives of Uttarakhand and others.
He said that the protest would continue until the authorities addressed their demands. Notably, during the protest, Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat also visited and extended his support to the movement. He argued that repeatedly changing the rules in the recruitment process is unfair to future nursing candidates. Rawat stated that recruitment should be conducted on a year-wise basis as it was in all previous processes. “Candidates from 2014-15 cannot compete with those from 2024-25. The government has announced recruitment after 12 years, so year-wise selection is the fairest process. Candidates should not be treated unfairly,” he said. Rawat appealed to the government to consider the nursing community’s demands and make a favourable decision, as none of their requests are unreasonable.
