ITI workers' protest marks 1000 days, struggle continues
Bengaluru: The ongoing protest by ITI employees against the illegal dismissal of 80 workers by ITI Limited Management on December 1, 2021, reached a significant milestone on August 27, completing 1000 days and entering the 1001st day.
The workers, who were terminated allegedly for organizing and demanding their rights, have been staging a continuous sit-in near the ITI factory located in K.R. Puram, Bengaluru. The protest has become one of the longest-running workers' struggles in Karnataka.
Despite a settlement reached between the management and the union on March 17, 2022, which promised the immediate reinstatement of 35 workers and the later rehiring of the remaining 45, the ITI Board has reportedly failed to honor the agreement. As a result, the workers continue to fight for their jobs.
AICCT Secretary Appanna, who has been part of the protest since its inception, criticised ITI for neglecting workers' rights, labeling it as a disgrace. He reaffirmed that the struggle would persist until justice is served. Meanwhile, Dasamsa President Muninanjappa highlighted the protest's impact, stating that it has inspired workers across the state to challenge anti-labor policies. The President of the BBMP Civil Servants Association, Nirmala, also participated in the protest, expressing solidarity with the workers.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
