Cuttack: After the protests against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme erupted in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana, the agitation spread to the Millennium city of Odisha on Friday.
Days after the Centre announced the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the short-term induction of soldiers in the armed forces, aspirants on Friday resorted to protests in Cuttack’s Cantonment area.
Protesters, most of them seemingly young job-seekers, blocked the Ring road area of the city.
Meanwhile, commission rate Police resorted to lathicharge after armed forces aspirants protesting against the Agnipath recruitment scheme turned violent.
The agitation began after the Centre launched the scheme on Tuesday, which proposes the recruitment of jawans on a contractual basis for a four-year period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.
Earlier, in the morning, hundreds of youth gathered in front of the Army office in the Cantonment area to protest against the recruitment scheme. The protestors vented their ire by placing burning tires on the roads and raising slogans against the scheme.
“We work hard to get inducted into the Armed forces. How will the service be for 4 years, with months of training and leaves? How will we protect the nation after getting trained for just 3 years? The government has to take back this scheme,” a protestor told the reporters.
Reportedly on Friday, three bogies of Vikramshila Express were set ablaze by protesting students in Lakhisarai on the third consecutive day of nationwide protests against the centre’s new military recruitment policy Agnipath.
