Dharmendra urges CM to address 108 ambulance employees’ demands

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s intervention to resolve issues concerning the agitating 108 ambulance employees.
In his letter, Dharmendra said, “Appropriate steps should be taken to consider the issues of 108 ambulance staff, who took to the streets on Tuesday seeking fulfillment of their demands including immediate reinstatement of illegally retrenched employees, timely payment of salary, transparency in salary slip and timely repair of ambulances.”
The Union Minister had received a petition from Manoj Kumar Sahoo, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) from Balangir, and other EMTs of the ambulance service over non-payment of wages and other issues.
Stating that ambulance staff plays a major role in providing emergency medical care, Dharmendra requested the chief minister to direct the officials concerned to sort out their problems.
“The emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are foot soldiers of the emergency medical ambulance services (EMAS) and their hard work not only make healthcare reach the doorsteps of patients but save precious human lives,” the letter read.