NIT Silchar workers strike for permanent status

Guwahati: Fifty-four muster roll workers at the National Institute of Technology in Silchar have launched an indefinite hunger strike. They are currently camped outside the main administrative building in Assam's Cachar district. The protest entered its third day on Wednesday. The workers are demanding the institute regularize their services and grant them the same benefits as permanent staff.

This demand follows a specific directive from the Gauhati High Court. The court ordered the institute to grant permanent status to these employees. According to the NIT Workers' Union, the institute employs 122 muster roll workers. To date, the administration has only regularized 20 of them. The remaining staff members continue to wait for a resolution.

Many of these employees have served the institute for decades. Records show some staff joined the workforce as early as 1993. A union representative stated, "The protesters said they would continue the hunger strike until their demands are addressed." Institute authorities remained unavailable for comment as of Wednesday.