Hundreds of Mission Shakti women spent night on Bhubaneswar street protesting non-payment of salaries

An unprecedented sight was witnessed at Lower PMG Square in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday night as hundreds of women associated with the Mission Shakti program refused to leave the protest site and slept on the road despite bone-chilling cold wave conditions.

On Monday, thousands of women belonging to different cadres of the Odisha government’s Mission Shakti program launched a protest over alleged non-payment of salaries for the last nine months. 

The second day saw the agitators carrying out mass demonstrations at the Lower PMG Square in the day before opting to spend the chilly winter nights on the road, to draw the government’s attention.

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“I have a small child and an ailing father-in-law at home to cater to but if the government does not provide us with our salaries then how can we run our families? I cannot return home empty-handed,” stated a woman protestor at the site.

It is pertinent to note that minimum temperatures had dropped to about 15 degrees Celsius in Bhubaneswar last night. Despite this winter chill, sources reported that the Mission Shakti women slept on the protest site while vowing to continue their protest until their demands were met.

The demonstration is being led by the All Odisha GPLF (Gram Panchayat Level Federation), a coalition of six organizations including the MBK, Bank Mitra, Jeevika Sahayika, Krishi Mitra, and Prani Mitra departments of Mission Shakti.

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“Since we have no money, we cannot return to our homes and feed our families. Sleeping on the streets of the state capital saddens us as well but we are waiting for the government to take note of our plight,” lamented another agitator at the site.