Raipur News: A three-day protest by scientists, field managers and employees of Krishi Vigyan Kendras is going on in the Indira Gandhi Agricultural University campus of Raipur. Employees from Raipur to Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Balod, Janjgir-Champa, Dhamtari, Durg and other districts are continuously raising their voice regarding their seven major demands. Problems like ongoing irregularities in salary and allowances, stoppage of medical allowance, delay in promotions and promotions have been troubling the employees for a long time. The biggest impact of the movement is falling on the farmers of the state, because the field work of Krishi Vigyan Kendras has come to a complete standstill.
employees are getting worried
Chandrashekhar Khare, field manager of Janjgir-Champa Agricultural Science Center, says that the employees are not getting medical allowance for 18 months. He said that life is uncertain, families face some health related problem every day, but employees are facing difficulties due to stoppage of allowances. Khare says that this is his 7th-8th protest, but the solution has not been found yet.
Adamant on seven-point demand
Dr. Pradeep Singh, President of Chhattisgarh Krishi Vigyan Kendra Employees Union, said that there was a meeting with the Vice Chancellor on November 28, in which seven-point demands were discussed in detail. The Vice Chancellor had assured to raise the issues in the board meeting on December 3, but no topic related to Krishi Vigyan Kendras was included in the meeting. Due to this, officials and scientists of 27 agricultural science centers of the entire state are very angry.
Dr. Lalita Ramteke of Durg Agricultural Science Center said that their demands have not been heard for more than a year. Even the university clerks and peons are getting their salaries on time, but the salaries of scientists, officers and subject experts have been stopped. Promotions and promotions are also pending for years. He said that we are educated experts, working day and night in the service of farmers, but the pay scale is not being given as per our qualifications.
Dr. Shakti Verma of Dhamtari Agricultural Science Center said that their not going to the field is causing direct loss to the farmers. Now after Kharif, it is time to prepare for Rabi crop. Farmers get important technical guidance like seed sowing, crop selection, seed treatment, insect-disease control from KVK only. He said that we are associated with thousands of farmers, but are protesting under compulsion due to salary discrepancy and neglect. Our absence in the field will affect both the sowing and production of farmers.
He also told that the schemes of Central and State Government like Pulses-Oilseeds Promotion Programme, Crop Protection Campaign, and awareness activities of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi reach the farmers only through KVK. But due to the employees’ agitation, all these programs are getting affected.
This three-day movement going on in Indira Gandhi Agricultural University is not only raising the voice of the employees, but is also making it clear that without Krishi Vigyan Kendras it is almost impossible to reach the farmers with technical assistance. If the problems are not resolved soon, farmers may have to suffer huge losses on both crop production and quality in the coming Rabi season.
