Krushnaprasad: Two hundred and eleven artists of Krushnaprasad block in Puri district demonstrated in front of the office of the block development officer (BDO), here Friday. They demanded the restoration of their pensions which has been suspended for the last six months. The demonstrators asked the BDO to solve the matter within the next 15 days failing which they pledged more protests.
The protestors have been receiving the ‘artists’ pension’ of Rs 1,200 a month from the Odisha government. Apart from this, those above 60 years of age were getting Rs 500 also. However, both pensions have been stopped for the last six months.
“‘The state government used to pay Rs 1,200 to 211 artists. Till March 2019, the payment was regular. But since then we have not been getting our pensions,” the protesters said.
The artists also submitted a written memorandum to Block Development officer (BDO) Abhimanyu Majhi. “If our demands are not met in the next 15 days, the protests will increase and a mass demonstration will be conducted,” they warned.
“The State Government is claiming that it is providing assistance to artists. But we are fighting for our rights. If the government does not pay pension to us, we will intensify our stir by blocking the highway,” they cautioned.
Although both the State and Central governments have implemented various schemes for the poor, artists, differently-abled and the underprivileged, there are still scores of people in this district who have been left out of the welfare programmes.
PNN