Health varsity instructs outsourced employees to vacate dharna spot
The confrontation between Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences (UHSR), Rohtak, authorities and a section of outsourced employees seems to be escalating. The employees have been staging an indefinite sit-in protest at Vijay Park on the campus for the past 13 days. The university administration has issued a notice directing the protesters to vacate the dharna spot. The protesters, however, have refused to comply, reiterating their demand to be included in the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN), and have vowed to continue the agitation until their demand is met.
The ongoing strike is severely affecting patient care services due to the shortage of staff.
In a notice issued by the UHSR Security Officer, the administration acknowledged — for the first time — that the strike was disrupting the functioning of PGIMS. The notice, which was pasted on a tree at Vijay Park on Friday, gave the protesters a two-hour ultimatum to vacate the area.
However, on Saturday evening, the protesters were still at the site, defying the order.
The notice states that the dharna at Vijay Park had been going on since June 2 without official permission, in violation of university regulations and state government guidelines.
Vijay Park was not a designated protest site, and the Haryana Government had earmarked Sector 6 for such demonstrations, the notice further read.
“Administrative arrangements are being hampered due to the ongoing protest. Patient care, OPD operations, and emergency services are adversely affected, posing a potential risk to the lives of critically ill patients. Inpatient care, sanitation, food distribution and other ward services are also disrupted — an infringement upon the fundamental rights of patients. Security arrangements are deteriorating due to the congregating and slogan shouting,” the notice added.
It further stated that such actions violated the dignity, rules, and administrative discipline of government health institutions, and could result in complaints and public interest litigation. “Failure to comply with the directive to vacate the protest site will be considered an illegal gathering and a public obstruction. Disciplinary, legal, and administrative action may be initiated against those involved,” the notice concluded.
The protesting employees accused the university authorities of attempting to intimidate them with what they called an illogical eviction notice aimed at forcibly ending their agitation. They said such tactics would not work.
“The university administration is under an illusion if they think we’ll back down. We will not end the agitation until our demand is fulfilled — no matter what,” a protester said.
Earlier, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, accompanied by Congress MLAs Bharat Bhushan Batra, Shakuntla Khatak, Balram Dangi, and Induraj Narwal, visited the protest site. They criticised state authorities for failing to address what they called a legitimate demand of outsourced employees.
Haryana Tribune