Reserve 80% jobs for Odias in industries

Members of the Youth for Action tried to gherao the residence of Industries Minister Pratap Keshari Deb here demanding jobs in the industries of the State.

A large number of agitators came in a procession holding placards and shouting slogans. When they tried to march towards the Ministers house, Police personnel deployed there intercepted them. This led to a scuffle.

The agitators alleged that Unemployment is on the rise in the State and demanded that the Government take immediate steps for providing jobs to the unemployed youths by expediting the industrial process.

During the last 22 years, the has signed over 200 MoUs with various companies in the steel, aluminium, thermal power and petrochemicals sectors. The MoUs were aimed to provide EMPLOYMENT opportunities to least 90 per cent of the total unskilled and semiskilled workers from Odisha.

However, the Government has failed to implement the pacts and the number of local workforce in the industries is less than 10 per cent, the agitators claimed.