Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 25 May: The indefinite protest by lab technicians continued on Sunday at Ekta Vihar Dharna Sthal, here, under the banner of the Unemployed Medical Lab Technologists Association.
Unemployed lab technicians from various districts reached the protest site to raise their pending demands. The association stated that the movement would continue uninterrupted until a positive decision is taken on their legitimate demands.
Former statehood activist Ravindra Jugran visited the protest site and extended his support to the agitating lab technicians. He assured them that he would soon meet the Health Minister regarding the resolution of their demands and would also make efforts to organise a trilateral meeting involving representatives of the organisation, the Health Secretary, the Director General of Health, and officials from the Personnel and Finance departments to arrive at a conclusion.
He stated that, even after 26 years of the formation of the state, healthcare services have remained in poor condition under every government. Government hospitals and medical colleges are still functioning merely as referral centres. He added that the government has failed to amend the outdated Uttar Pradesh service rules even today, due to which posts for lab technicians could not be advertised.
He justified all the major demands of the unemployed lab technicians, including:
- Creation of posts as per IPHS standards,
- Appointments based on year-wise merit,
- One-time relaxation in age criteria, and
- Stoppage of privatisation of government laboratories.
The lab technicians expressed their gratitude to Jugran and stated that they would continue their protest despite adverse conditions and would not end the dharna until the government accepts their demands. Degree-holder lab technicians are also preparing strategies for intensifying the movement in the coming days.
Those present at the protest site included President Ashish Khali, General Secretary Mayank Rana, Vice President Ranveer Bisht, Dolly Pokhariyal, Taruna, Shaifali, Preeti, Rajmohan Negi, Praveen Panwar, Lokendra Bhatt, Rahul Dev, Vikas Awasthi, Amit Joshi, Sanjay Joshi, and many others.
