SRINAGAR
Hundreds of Public Health Engineering (PHE) employees under the banner of ‘Kashmir PHE Joint Employees Association’ Thursday held a unique but peaceful protest in Press Colony. The protesters wearing and masked black laid down on the road. Without uttering even a word, the protesters were holding placards with slogans in favor of their demands.
The daily wagers in PHE department are demanding their regularization and release of the pending wages. It was their third massive protest in the Press Colony where a large contingent of police was deployed since morning to “maintain the law and order.”
Later talking to media persons the protesters said that they are working with the PHE department from last 15 years but their services are not being regularized. The alleged that they were not getting their salaries in time. “Tell me how I can feed my children”, asked a protesting employee, Fayaz Ahmad.
The president of the association, Sajad Ahmad Parray said that they are demanding for the release of pending wages and want confirmation of all the daily wage employees.
Earlier in the month the PHE employees association held massive protests twice to press for their demands. Many were arrested on the occasion but today’s protest was peaceful and they dispersed peacefully.
The association threatened to go for more massive protests if their demands were not accepted.
The Srinagar press colony has become like “Jantar Mantar” of Srinagar where every now and then protesters gather to “seek justice”. It has compelled the law enforcing agencies to keep their men deployed there almost round the clock. Even the law enforcing personnel in plains could be seen wandering in the press colony. “It is very hectic for us to deal with the protesters in press colony, our higher authorities don’t want the protesters to move towards the residency road and we have been strictly directed to deal with them in the colony premises,” said a police sub-inspector.
We want justic