Date:30/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113057110300.htm

Other States - Orissa

DYFI demands unemployment allowance from government

Staff Reporter

- Photo: Lingaraj Panda

YOUTH POWER: A rally being organised by DYFI in Berhampur on Saturday.

BERHAMPUR: Demands were made for provision for unemployment allowance by the State government during the open session of the two-day conference of the Ganjam district unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) here on Saturday.

It is being attended by cadres of the DYFI from all the 22 blocks of Ganjam district. They took out a rally in the city condemning communalism and terrorism. The Ganjam district secretary of the DYFI, Basant Nanda said they felt these two were the greatest threat to national integrity and well being of citizens. During the conference the cadres would be motivated to root out any attempt of sprouting of communalism or extremism in their respective areas.

During the open session of the organisation which was attended by State secretariat member of the CPI (M), Ali Kishore Patnaik, State general secretary of the DYFI, Yudhisthir Behera and former State head of the organisation Kamal Chakraborty, dicusssions were about the immediate problems faced by the youth in the State especially in Ganjam district. The leaders alleged that as in many districts the State government had failed to ensure provision of regular employment through National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), it was the duty of the State government to provide unemployment allowance to persons who had job cards yet could not get employed under NREGS. Similarly they also wanted the unemployed urban youth to be provided an allowance.

They criticised the State government for lack of industrialisation in Ganjam.