Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A large number of contractual (Covid) health workers, who went to CM residence seeking job reinstatement, were arrested on Saturday. A video of the incident has surfaced, which shows police force locking health workers in a bus, even as they threaten to kill themselves.
The health workers are demanding their reinstatement after their jobs were terminated as they were appointed on an 'Ad hoc' basis for Covid-19 management. They are 5000 such workers across the state who served the patients during the distressing Covid times, proving a much-needed support to medical staff then.
According to protesters, government has not taken any decision for reinstatement. "For the last two years, the government has been giving us assurances, but there are no concrete steps. When government can regularise services of panchayat secretary, asha workers, and Samvida karmis, then why not us? We risked our lives to fight Covid-19. We were at the front line. Now all we want is our jobs back so that we don’t stay unemployed," the said.