Tempers flared between the Director of NEIGRIHMS and the leaders of the Hynniewtrep Youths Council (HYC), prompting the latter to walk out of a meeting before peace was restored.
The HYC threatened to put the Director’s office under lock and key after they took offence at something the NEIGRIHMS boss said to them.
The pressure group has been demanding 80 percent job reservation for indigenous tribals in certain posts in the medical institute. In this regard, it held a protest on January 19. However, the Director, Dr Nalin Mehta, reportedly said that the protest was called only to create trouble. The HYC then took offence at this off the cuff remark.
On the subject of recruitment, Dr Mehta told the HYC that outsourcing has to go through a tendering process and he does not have the power to choose.
“Outsourcing for security and all the manpower for skilled, unskilled and highly skilled workers is done locally by local agencies and there is no move to call people from outside,” he told the HYC.
As NEIGRIHMS is a central government institute, the demand of the HYC has been forwarded to New Delhi, the pressure group was told.
Another gripe of the HYC is that nurses have to be appointed through NORCET (Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test) but this test is two difficult and too new for local candidates and the old system should remain until locals familiarise themselves with the common eligibility test.