GVK EMRI ready to close down ops in Meghalaya

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 31, 2019

SHILLONG: GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) on Thursday maintained that it is ready to close down its operation of running the emergency services in the state as it appealed to the agitating workers to resume work.

Emergency services across the eleven districts have come to a standstill after over 200 field staffs of the ‘108 emergency service’ decided to cease work for the past one month in protest against the non-fulfillment of the 36-point charter of demands.

Further intensifying their stir, the agitating staffs under the banner of the Meghalaya Emergency Management and Research Institute Workers’ Union (MEMRIWU) are staging an indefinite hunger strike demanding the state government to immediately terminate the contract with the company.

It may be mentioned here that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and the GVK EMRI was signed in 2008 to initially provide emergency services for the people in the state for a period of three years.

After the contract was given six months and yearly extentions, the state government in 2016 subsequently decided to roll out the emergency services on a tender mode with the GVK EMRI for a period of five years. The current tender will expired on March 31, 2021.

GVK EMRI state head Deepankar Choudhury said that the state government has been informed about the stand of the company for mutual closure of the project. 

“If closing this project prematurely on mutual consent is the solution we are okay with it and we have informed this to the state government,” Choudhury said. 

Following the ongoing stalemate, the health minister AL Hek after a meeting held on October 23, has announced the decision of the state government to issue a pre-termination notice giving 60 days time to the GVK EMRI to resume the emergency services. 

Asked, state head of the institute however said that the company is yet to officially receive the pre-termination notice. 

Pending the decision on the entire issue, Choudhury said that the management is trying its best to resume the emergency services adding “whether we succeed or not that is a different story altogether.” 

The management has also appealed to the agitating employees to resume their work if they want to save the project and their jobs.

“We also appeal to the agitating employees to come back because it cannot be my way or highway if you want to negotiate and come back (so that) we can actually save the project and about 250 jobs can be saved as this place has provided stable and secure job for the past 10 years,” he said. 

According to Choudhury, the management has had around nine engagements with the agitating staff at different level and has addressed a total of 17 points.