Bhubaneswar: A scuffle ensued between students’ wing of Congress and police at Raj Mahal square here while the former were heading to gherao Naveen Niwas, official residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today over the government’s apathy in recruitment of DMLT and DMRT students.
Sloganeering against the State government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the mass unemployment of the All Odisha Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) and Diploma in Radiology Therapy (DMRT) students in the State, the agitating students backed by students’ Congress activists congregated near the Raj Mahal square and was heading towards Naveen Niwas when police intercepted them leading to a face-off between the two, reports said.
Meanwhile, police have taken many Congress leaders and protesting students in preventive custody in order to avoid any untoward situation. Many students also sustained injuries during the agitation.
“If the 5-point demands of the DMLT and DMRT students are not fulfilled within seven days, then we will hurl eggs on the CM,” rued former Chhatra Congress president Itish Pradhan.
The agitating students also burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to mark the protest.
“The concerned officials have violated the High Court’s order that came in 2008 and illegally permitted the private colleges, which are not approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to admit students for the medical courses. We want CBI probe into the irregularities and those involved should be arrested,” alleged an agitating student, Bhabani Shankar Mohanty.
“We want that those students enrolled in government colleges shall be given recruitment at priority basis and private medical colleges should be closed down,” said an agitating medical student.
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Earlier on August 6, the DLMT and DMRT students along with students’ Congress tried to gherao the Odisha Health Minister, Pratap Jena’s residence. However, they were stopped by the police leading to a clash between the two in the capital city.
“We gave an ultimatum of seven days when we tried to gherao the residence of Health Minister. However, we did not get any response from the department concerned so we decided to take up the matter to Chief Minister,” said a protesting student adding that the protest will be intensified if their demands are not fulfilled at the earliest.