NEW DELHI: In a poignant display of desperation, hundreds of retrenched Delhi Civil Defence volunteers have been staging a protest near the Delhi Secretariat for over ten days. Having lost their jobs on November 1, the people, who earlier served as constables, are expressing deep dismay at what they perceive as the Delhi government’s indifference to their demand for re-employment.
Aditya Rai, spokesperson for the Delhi Civil Defence Volunteers protest, highlighted the dire consequences of the dismissals and revealed that four civil defence volunteers lost their lives due to heart attacks during the ongoing protest. Despite persistent efforts, including submitting memoranda to government officials, civil defence volunteers claim that their pleas for reinstatement, particularly at the DTC or the Group Bus Commissioners’ Department, have fallen on deaf ears.
Mukesh Kumar, whose father Vijender Kumar succumbed to a heart attack while protesting, is urgently seeking financial help and employment to support his family of four.
“My wife passed away after receiving the news that I had been terminated from work. I worked as a caretaker for over five years at an MCD dispensary and now my four children have become motherless,” said Waqar Hussain, 44, demanding that he needs a job immediately to feed his children.
The layoffs have also disproportionately affected women. Archana Jain and Priyanka, former bus marshals at the DTC, lament the abrupt end of their employment, saying, “While the government paid our pending salaries, we got the Diwali bonus for being laid off from our jobs.”
Md Rizwan, a 28-year-old protest marshal, shares a personal tragedy and reveals that the loss of his job has plunged his family of six into deep crisis. He had been saving money for his sister’s wedding but now faces an uncertain future. Despite attempts to get a clarification, officials of the Directorate of Civil Defence of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi were not available for comment.
Commenting on the social aspects of job security, human rights activist Vinod Kumar said that protesting civil defence volunteers should be reinstated and also provided with employment benefits like health insurance, pensions, etc.
On October 27, Delhi Major General VK Saxena approved Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s proposal to end all services of volunteers from November 1. This decision was based on the interpretation that the duties of volunteers did not fit within the provisions of the Civil Defence Act, 1968, which mandates their involvement only in situations of disaster management or hostile attacks.
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