Odisha minister's residence ransacked

The residence of Odisha Minister Pranab Prakash Das here was ransacked and eggs were thrown at it today by angry kin of deceased employees of the Energy department protesting against alleged denial of rehabilitation.
Police said some wooden furniture kept in the lawn of the Energy minister's bungalow were damaged and the glass window panes smashed as well as all earthen flower pots.
At least 30 people have been detained in connection with the incident, the police added.
The family members of the deceased employees of the energy department have been on dharna since the past four months demanding jobs and about 300 of them are on strike and have not reported for work at their respective work places.

Many of them had also tonsured their heads as a mark of protest.
Das, however, said that he would not lodge a complaint with the police. "Whatever they did today, they did because of anger and frustration. I see no problem in it. Employment is a technical matter".

"We have a gazette notification that mandates that we can't employ on rehabilitation. We can't immediately train the next of kin of a deceased employee. Besides, there are other complications," the Minister said.
"The issue had been discussed in the assembly and we have formed a committee to see how they can receive more insurance, remuneration and other benefits," Das said.

The government, he said, is taking steps according to the gazette notification and following legal procedure to compensate the affected families.
The government is also taking steps to compensate the families, the minister added.
The protesters claimed that though the government had issued letters to them to provide them jobs under the rehabilitation assistance scheme, the department officials are denying them jobs.