Trade unions demand job, compensation to kin

Visakhapatnam: A day after Dredging Corporation of India employee N Venkatesh committed suicide fearing DCI privatisation, staff of the DCI expressed their grief and resorted to protest here Tuesday.

Urging the Centre to see that such incidents doesn’t repeat, the employees union demanded that the government rollback its decision of privatising DCI. At the protest scene, the employees raised slogans against the Central government’s proposal of DCI disinvestment, local politicians and burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“All the employees’ families will participate in hunger strike against the privatisation of Dredging Corporation of India Company on Wednesday,” said Working Union Secretary P Venkat Rao of DCI Employees Union (CITU).

It may be noted that 25-year-old N Venkatesh allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself before a moving train near Nellimarla mandal in Vizianagaram district. He was working as a Junior Assistant at Floating Section attached to DCI. On Monday evening, the body of deceased was found on the tracks with a detailed suicide letter in his pocket.

With this letter, it is learnt that he had taken this drastic step as he would not be in a position to clear the debts if the DCI gets privatised. After post-mortem, the funeral was held in the presence of his family members at his native village Pusapatirega in Vizianagaram district on Tuesday.

The protesting DCI employees, along with three directors of the PSU, organised a condolence meeting at Sea Horse Junction here on Tuesday.N Venkatesh was part of DCI employees relay hunger strike that began on November 28 against the privatisation move.