Jaipur, August 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Three contractual nursing staff members, including a woman, climbed a nearly 90-foot-high water tank inside the premises of Jaipuria Hospital in Jaipur on Friday to press for their long-pending demand for recruitment of nursing personnel in Rajasthan.
The protesters are demanding immediate recruitment for 12,000 Nursing Officer posts and 7,000 Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) posts, with selection based on merit and bonus marks for contractual service experience.
The three protesters — Vimal Sharma (32), Robin Sharma (28) and Sanjita Chaudhary (30) — climbed the water tank early in the morning and remained there throughout the day despite intermittent rain and repeated appeals from officials to come down.
Police and Civil Defence personnel were deployed at the site, while a safety net was installed below the structure as a precautionary measure. Officials continued negotiations with the protesters to ensure that they descended safely.
As news of the protest spread, a large number of contractual healthcare workers, including ANMs, GNMs, pharmacists and nursing staff, gathered outside Jaipuria Hospital in support of the protesters. Police later dispersed the gathering and restricted movement near the water tank area.
The protesters said they had been seeking recruitment on the basis of merit and bonus marks for nearly two years and had submitted several representations to the state government and senior health officials, but had not received any concrete assurance.
They alleged that contractual healthcare workers, despite performing duties similar to regular government employees, continue to face low wages, job insecurity and uncertainty over permanent appointments.
The protesters argued that conducting recruitment only through a written examination would ignore the years of service provided by contractual employees.
Contractual nursing staff members Kiran Chaudhary and Komal said GNMs, pharmacists and nursing personnel receive around Rs 7,900 per month, while ANMs are paid around Rs 6,300 per month. They claimed many contractual workers have been working eight to nine-hour shifts for the past three to four years and said changing recruitment criteria after years of service would be unfair.
Supporting the agitation, Rakesh Saini from Dausa said contractual nursing staff worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic and were repeatedly assured that their experience would be considered through recruitment based on merit and bonus marks.
He warned that nearly 20,000 contractual nursing staff members across Rajasthan could launch a statewide protest if their demands were not addressed.
Nadeem, a contractual employee associated with the 108 ambulance service, said workers had submitted more than 20 memorandums to Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar seeking recruitment based on merit and bonus marks. He alleged that despite multiple meetings with the government, no clear assurance had been given.
The protesters said they would not come down from the water tank until they received a written assurance from the government on their demands.
Authorities continued discussions with the protesters, while police and Civil Defence teams remained stationed at the spot to ensure safety and maintain law and order.
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