Sirsa nurses continue stir from atop water tank

Our Correspondent

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Sirsa, August 6

As the strike of NHM employees in Sirsa entered its 12th day, four workers refused to come down from a water tank at the Mini-Secretariat. The workers are staging a sit-in at the waterworks complex, with food being delivered to those on the tank via rope.

Get support of Congress

On Tuesday, Santosh Beniwal, state general secretary of the Women's Congress and vice- president of the Sarpanch Association, extended full support to the NHM workers' ongoing strike. She praised the workers' determination and criticised the government's handling of various issues over the past decade.

On Tuesday, the women NHM workers applied mehndi on their hands and foreheads with messages demanding job security. They asserted that despite repeated assurances from the government, no action was taken. The strike would continue until a written confirmation of job security was issued.

Workers plan a hunger strike for the next four days, which is likely to escalate the protest if demands are not met. The administration is trying to persuade the workers to descend, but they are resolute. Kundan, district president of the NHM workers union, on the tank, stated that they would not come down until their demands were fulfilled. Recently, the NHM employees wrote a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, pleading for regularisation of their jobs.

Support for the workers continues to grow, with several Congress leaders visiting the site to express solidarity. They and other employee organisations argued that the workers’ demands were justified and should be addressed by the government.