Bhubaneswar: In a determined display of solidarity, hundreds of women associated with Odisha’s Mission Shakti program spent the night at Lower PMG Square, Bhubaneswar, protesting against the non-payment of their salaries for the past nine months. Despite the bone-chilling cold, the women remained steadfast in their demands, highlighting the financial hardships they face due to the delayed payments.
The protest, led by the All Odisha Gram Panchayat Level Federation (GPLF), saw women from various cadres of the Mission Shakti program, including master bookkeepers, bank mitras, krishi mitras, and prani mitras, voicing their grievances. They carried out mass demonstrations throughout the day and chose to sleep on the streets at night to draw the government’s attention to their plight.
One protestor, who has a small child and an ailing father-in-law to care for, expressed her frustration, stating, “If the government does not provide us with our salaries, how can we run our families? I cannot return home empty-handed”. The minimum temperatures in Bhubaneswar dropped to around 15 degrees Celsius, yet the women continued their protest, vowing to stay until their demands are met.
The demonstrators are also calling for the regularization of their jobs, travel allowances, mobile bill reimbursements, identity cards from Mission Shakti, employee provident fund, and employees’ state insurance (ESI) benefits. The protest has garnered significant attention, with opposition parties in the Odisha Assembly disrupting proceedings to demand immediate action on the issue.
The Odisha government has yet to respond to the protestors’ demands, but the persistence of the Mission Shakti women underscores the urgent need for a resolution to their grievances.
