Local youths polish shoes of steel plant employees

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Jajpur, Jan 9 (Odisha.in) Over hundred members of Sukinda Unemployed Technical Youth Association (SUTYA) Wednesday polished the shoes of the employees of various steel plant including the employees of Jindal  in Kalinga Nagar on a mark of protest towards the apathetic attitude of the company towards local unemployed youths.

They detained the officials of Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) at Military Chhack on Jajpur Road- Kalinga Nagar road, who were on their way to join duty and polished their shoes.

 They took whatever they gave as 'charges' for their work. "As we have no jobs and the JSL didn't pay heed towards our demands, we decided to earn something through polishing of shoes on road," said Dharmananda Ray, president of the SUTYA.

"More then 100 members of our association mostly unemployed engineers and ITI trainee holders were polishing the shoes the whole day.  

We polished the shoes of more than 500 people, including various steel companies’ officials, policemen and bureaucrats and collected nearly Rs 800," he added.

It may be noted that, at least 22 persons including five cops and six security personnel of Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) were injured and several vehicles, including police jeep damaged following a scuffle between the stainless steel company security officials and members of SUTYA who were on a dharna near its gate.

SUTYA has been staging agitations and 'dharnas' since last few months demanding job reservation for all the technical youths of Sukinda area and cancellation of earlier employment by the JSL management.

"We have been demanding priority to only to the SUTYA people in employment and reservation of various technical posts up to 70 per cent in JSL plant in Kalinga Nagar.

This apart, there should be no age limit for the unemployed youth in the Sukinda area and we want immediate cancellation of previous appointment in JSL and a fresh selection in consultation with the district administration," said Suryakanta Biswal, secretary of the association.

Despite eight operational steel plants in the KalingaNagar steel hub we the technical qualified people are unemployed and polishing shoes for livelihood, Mr. Biswal added.


The association has threatened to continue such activities till the JSL authorities fulfill their demands and give employment to the local youths. Though the activists claimed to have polished the shoes of additional Superintendent of Police and Jajpur Collector, but they denied such.

Odisha.in

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