NCW takes cognizance of 300 Manipuri nurses who left work for no pay

National Commission for Women has written to the Rajiva Sinha, IAS, Chief Secretary of West Bengal asking him to take immediate action in the Manipur nurses row.

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo moto cognizance of 300 nurses working in Kolkata who went back home to Manipur, saying they were compelled to work without pay or protective gear and that they were heckled.

The commission has written to the Rajiva Sinha, IAS, Chief Secretary of West Bengal, to act on the matter and take immediate action, and asked for detailed feedback in the matter to be apprised to the Commission at the earliest.

According to the Health Department, around 6,500 nurses work in private hospitals in Kolkata and its suburbs. As per reports, 80% of them - more than 5,000, hail from other states. Approximately 500 nurses have now gone to their native states, including 300 from Manipur.

However, the organization Manipuris in Kolkata has raised these issues with Kolkata's hospitals and administration.

"The women's agency taken a serious note of the matter and is concerned about the several issues like security, social ostracism, salary cut, food shortage during quarantine, working environment, personal safety and security, landlord and accommodation issues, mental health and depression during the crises of the COVID19 pandemic", NCW said.

This is not just a first incident where people from north east is targeted, racially attacked and abused ever since the outbreak of the pandemic. Many such issues rose to prominence during this crisis and northeast people continue to face abuse and harassment.

Earlier, two separate cases emerged from Maharashtra on May 17 evening of five girls hailing from Nagaland being allegedly subjected to racial and sexual harassment.

The first case pertained to two Naga girls working in Pune. They were reportedly abused by two men who hurled racial abuse and told them to "go back where they came from".

In another case, three Naga women were accosted by their house owner who allegedly asked for sexual favours in exchange for letting them stay in their rented apartment in Jalna, Maharashtra.

Moreover, the commission is concerned about the safety and security of women from the northeast region of the country as they continue to face abuse and racial attack amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.