TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Terminated employees of Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs have taken their protest to the department office at Campal by holding a dharna on the adjoining footpath, demanding that they be re-instated in the more than 775 sports facilities across the State.
The employees, who were terminated last October, had through their union registered their request with the sports department and were surprised when told that their file which was submitted to the Secretariat was returned without any course of action or guidelines recommended.
“The government is saying that the 775 sports facilities across the State are overstaffed, but actually this is not true. There is insufficient staff and these posts can be filled by employees who were suddenly removed from their jobs,” union leader Ajeetsingh Rane said.
Also present and intervening in the matter outside the Campal office was ex-sports minister Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar who pledged his support to the striking employees saying he would sit with the protestors if their demands were not met after the zilla panchayat elections.
“It is ridiculous how the government can spend money going on long trips out of the State but not pay any heed to the problems of these people,” he said.
The sports department on the other hand has promised to look into the matter once the ZP elections are over, since the director has been put on election duty.
