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Bhubaneswar: 108 ambulance services were badly hit in seven districts of the state today following the indefinite strike launched by the staffs protesting against the arrest of Manoj Sahu, the Bolangir district president of the ambulance employees association on Monday.
According to reports, 108 ambulances remained off the roads in ‘the districts of Sambalpur, Boudh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Bargarh and Doegarh. However, ambulance services remained operational in areas like Bolangir Sadar, Patnagarh, and Tusra areas despite the stir.
Notably, a dispute arose between 108 ambulance staffs and Ziqitza Health Care, a private party which partners with the State Government to operate ambulance service, over several issues a couple of days ago. Though both the parties held several rounds of talks subsequently to sort out the differences, no solution was found.
The ambulance staff went on strike after Sahu was arrested under the ST, SC Atrocities Act on the basis of a compliant filed by Dhaneshwar Tirkey, a Ziqitza Health Care official, on Monday. The complaint is believed to be a fallout of a heated argument between Sahu and Tirkey at the Bolangir DHH on August 9.