Bhubaneswar: As protests over disengagement from service continue, hundreds of retrenched Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) workers resorted to celebrating Christmas under the open sky at Lower PMG Square in the capital city, Thursday midnight.
According to sources, each of the health workers contributed some money, bedecked the place, decorated a photograph of Jesus Christ with balloons and lit up candles on the streets to celebrate the occasion at midnight. Earlier in the day, they also observed Manabasa Gurubar (Worship of Goddess Lakshmi) as they would have done back in their homes.
“We are living on the streets for over a month now protesting against the injustice meted out to us. Amid our ordeal, we are trying to find some peace and happiness by celebrating festivals irrespective of cast and creed,” said a protestor.
“Most of the protestors belong to poor family. We have collected a paltry amount from amongst ourselves and celebrated Christmas in a low key manner. We commemorated the birth of Jesus at midnight with full of devotion. May Jesus fulfil the prayer of all the poor girls,” said another protestor.
It is pertinent to mention that the State Government had engaged some 21,000 ANMs, staff nurses and Pharmacists on a temporary basis to augment the health workforce for smooth functioning of Covid Care Homes (CCH) when the infections were exploding in Odisha. They were appointed on a daily-wage basis for a period of three months, or till the CCHs are functional. However, the Health department relieved them of their duties later triggering discontentment among them. Demanding regularisation of jobs, they have intensified their protests.
Earlier on December 15, two ANM workers had tried to set themselves on fire by pouring kerosene on their bodies at Master Canteen square, close to the protest-site. They were however overpowered by other protesting ANM workers and safely rescued from what could have been a disastrous incident.
(Edited by Devbrat Patnaik)