SHILLONG, Jan 31 - As many as 161 BSNL employees bade adieu to their service life at a ceremony held at the State Central Library here today. With power disruption marking the farewell function, the speakers spoke in veritable darkness without microphone.
�We must make way for the young,� A Ghosh, one of the retired employees, said.
Ghosh and over 90,000 BSNL and MTNL employees over the age of 50 years across the country have opted for the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) of the Central Government. Ghosh belonged to the BSNL�s NE Circle I which covers the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
In NE Circle I, 161 employees opted for the VRS and today was their last day in office. The VRS has been launched to save the BSNL and the MTNL from financial collapse as the bulk of the profits from these PSUs go towards payment of employees� salaries. The Government over the next few months will disburse the VRS amounts to those opting for the scheme in two instalments.
One other retired employee, SK Chetri, said that he would need to frequent his office even after retirement, as there is a lot of paper work to be completed for the VRS. Many others like Chetri feel that they �have to go to office� even though they have retired. �There will be a lot of work pressure on our colleagues as we have retired, and we have to go check and help if possible,� said another retired employee. Others hoped the younger employees of the telecom PSU would be able to continue the nation building process by providing better connectivity to Indians living in every corner of the country.
Many of these employees have served the BSNL for over 30 years.
