The Crossbill Team
Casual employees of Doordarshan Kendra have been on a sit-in dharna for 455 days in Haryana’s Hisar for reopening of their office. The employees, protesting under that banner of Doordarshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, have been demanding the restart of the Doordarshan (DD) Kendra in Hisar for over a year now.
According to a report published in The Tribune, the DD Kendra in Hisar, the lone one in Haryana, was closed on January 15, 2023, when it was shifted to Chandigarh leading to loss of jobs of the casual employees. The employees’ protest has found support by local residents of the town.
The DD Kenra in Hisar was set up in November 2002 by Sushma Swaraj, then Union information & Broadcasting Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. However, the operation of the Kendra was wounded up in December 2022, when the present I&B Minister Anurag Thakur announced the shifting of the station to Chandigarh.
The Tribune report claims that the DD Kendra, comprising a residential complex for the employees in five acres, is situated on nearly eight acres in Sector 13 of Hisar.
The agitating employees of samiti are unhappy with the BJP govt in the state, which has taken a blind eye to their long dwelling protest and not taken up the issue with the Centre, despite having the cushion of a “double engine” government.
Inder Singh Malik, president of the samiti, told The Tribune that, “The kendra is a necessity for the state as it was useful for the public and the government. Many cultural, educational, agricultural, and healthcare-related programmes were telecast from here.”
Various political parties like Congress and Indian National Lok Dal have lent support the protesting employees in their cause. Congress leader and MP Deepender Hooda had visited the dharna site and extended his help on the issue. Hooda speaking to Times of India said, "Hisar Doordarshan Kendra is the heritage of Haryana and we will do everything possible to save it."
The Congress leader slammed the BJP government and said, “The Haryana government could not save the Rail coach factory and the International Airport, and has now closed the DD Kendra,” adding that the state government had “failed to bring any new project into Haryana in nine years”.
The protesters have pledge to carry on their demonstration till their demand is met.
According to a report published in The Tribune, the DD Kendra in Hisar, the lone one in Haryana, was closed on January 15, 2023, when it was shifted to Chandigarh leading to loss of jobs of the casual employees. The employees’ protest has found support by local residents of the town.
The DD Kenra in Hisar was set up in November 2002 by Sushma Swaraj, then Union information & Broadcasting Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. However, the operation of the Kendra was wounded up in December 2022, when the present I&B Minister Anurag Thakur announced the shifting of the station to Chandigarh.
The Tribune report claims that the DD Kendra, comprising a residential complex for the employees in five acres, is situated on nearly eight acres in Sector 13 of Hisar.
The agitating employees of samiti are unhappy with the BJP govt in the state, which has taken a blind eye to their long dwelling protest and not taken up the issue with the Centre, despite having the cushion of a “double engine” government.
Inder Singh Malik, president of the samiti, told The Tribune that, “The kendra is a necessity for the state as it was useful for the public and the government. Many cultural, educational, agricultural, and healthcare-related programmes were telecast from here.”
Various political parties like Congress and Indian National Lok Dal have lent support the protesting employees in their cause. Congress leader and MP Deepender Hooda had visited the dharna site and extended his help on the issue. Hooda speaking to Times of India said, "Hisar Doordarshan Kendra is the heritage of Haryana and we will do everything possible to save it."
The Congress leader slammed the BJP government and said, “The Haryana government could not save the Rail coach factory and the International Airport, and has now closed the DD Kendra,” adding that the state government had “failed to bring any new project into Haryana in nine years”.
The protesters have pledge to carry on their demonstration till their demand is met.
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