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Uttarakhand govt invokes ESMA, prohibits employees from going on strike
The Char Dham Yatra began on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya on April 22. This year 50 lakh pilgrims are expected to visit Char Dham shrines
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami-led Uttarakhand government on Friday issued an order prohibiting employees in the state from going on strike for the next six months, invoking relevant provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) Act, 1966.
According to the order, the decision to invoke ESMA was taken to deal with various possible emergencies during the Char Dham yatra and the monsoon period.
The Char Dham Yatra began on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya on April 22. This year 50 lakh pilgrims are expected to visit Char Dham shrines. Also, over four crore Kanwariyas are expected to visit the state next month during the annual Kanwar yatra.
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This is not the first time the state has invoked ESMA. In February, the Uttarakhand government invoked ESMA prohibiting strikes by employees of Uttarakhand Power Development Corporation Ltd, Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd and Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd.
In March last year, the state had prohibited all staff of the state school education department including, the Uttarakhand Board of School Education, from holding any kind of strike for the next six months from the date of the order issued.
In December 2021, when over 2,000 private doctors from across the state warned of going on strike against the Central government’s decision to allow Ayurvedic doctors to perform certain surgeries, the state government had issued an order prohibiting doctors in the state from going on strike, invoking relevant provisions of ESMA.
