Holding protest for regularisation of service for the last 19 days
Rural Pharmacy Officer attempts suicide
Ferozepur, July 7, 2020: 40-year-old, Rural Pharmacy Officer posted at Bazidpur Rural Dispensary, perturbed over non-regularisation of his services, tried to commit suicide amid ongoing strike for the last 19 days, for seeking regularization of services, in front of the Zila Parishad office.
Expressing resentment over not getting regular jobs, the Rural pharmacists had already warned the government of boycotting Covid duties assigned to them if their demands are not met.
As per the information, Ravi Kumar after consuming the poisonous liquid informed to one of his colleague who immediately shifted him to the Trauma Ward in Civil Hospital, Ferozepur. According to his colleague, Hanu Tiwari, the condition of Ravi Kumar is stated to be stable and under treatment at Civil Hospital.
It may be added that Rural Pharmacy Officers are protesting for the last 19 days to regularise their services under Disaster Management Act as was done in 1997 for regularizing such staff working on 89 days.
Pharmacists, who were later on called as Rural Pharmacy Officers, are working on contractual basis for the past several years in the 1186 rural health dispensaries under the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats across Punjab.
Hanu Tiwari said, due to inflation in the market, it is very difficult to survive and look after the family, with meager consolidated wages of Rs.10,000 per month and the government should seriously think over regularizing their services. We are being exploited economically.
He said, we were appointed under Zila Parishad by Capt Amarinder-led Congress government in 2006 on nominal salaries. Unfortunately, the SAD-BJP government too did not regularize our services in their tenure. With the coming of Congress into power, we hoped that the present Congress government would listen to our grievances but in vain. Meanwhile, our agitation will continue till such time their services are regularized, he added.