Mission Shakti members demand salary hike, dress code

Bhubaneswar: Thousands of Mission Shakti members from across the state staged a protest on Mahatma Gandhi Marg here on Monday demanding salary hike, dress code, transport cost, mission shakti card, and reimbursement of mobile bills, among others. They also demanded bonus and their inclusion under the ESIC scheme.
“Our only request to chief minister Naveen Patnaik is that we work at the grassroots and take the government’s schemes to every household in interior and inaccessible areas. But we are hardly paid for the work we do and services we provide,” said Nirupama Nayak, president of All Odisha Gram Panchayat Level Federation Mission Shakti Karmi Samukhya, which led the agitation.
The demonstrators included master book keepers (MBK), community resource persons, prani mitra, krushi mitra, bank mitra, livelihood support persons (LSP) and others engaged in providing different services. A team of the representatives Mission Shakti secretary Sujatha Kartikeyan.
“We discussed our problems with her and she said the government will look into our demands. She also said that the Centre has stopped funds under the scheme,” said Santoshi Das, secretary of the association.