KL Report
SRINAGAR
Threatening to intensify their agitation, daily wagers working in various government departments Saturday alleged that National Conference Ministers Abdul Rahim Rather and Muhammad Akbar Lone in previous government proved to be the “biggest hurdle” in getting the daily-wagers in Jammu and Kashmir regularized.
Hundreds of daily wagers from different government departments including, Tourism, PHE, R&B, Forest, Horticulture, Floriculture, Agriculture, and others staged a massive protest inside Pratap Park in Srinagar demanding regularization of their services. At least 32 protesters were taken into preventive detention after they tried to proceed towards city centre Lal Chowk.
Reports said that daily rated workers carrying placards and banners assembled under the banner of J&K Casual Daily Wagers Forum at Pratap Park here. A contingent of police cornered the park and did not allow protestors to come on the road. However, some protestors broke the police cordon and tried to march towards Lal Chowk, the move foiled by police. Chaos and confusion prevailed for some time in the busy residency Road and traffic movement also remained disrupted for a while as police bundled scores of protestors into vehicles and detained them at police station Kothi Bagh. Besides, arresting the president of the Forum Sajad Parrey, police also detained the press secretary Muhammad Asif and other union leaders including Tariq Ahmed and Mir Sarwar.
Earlier talking to reporters, president J&K Casual Daily Wagers Forum, Sajad Ahmed Parrey alleged that former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather in league with his colleague Muhammad Akbar Lone scuttled the move the then government to regularize the daily wagers of the State. “These two ministers played politics over the issue and forced us to suffer as we used to suffer in the past,” he said.
He said that more than 56000 families are suffering due to the delay caused by authorities. He said that the poor, helpless and starving employees have been repeatedly lathi charged and detained to deny them their genuine rights.
Parray said that they would continue to fight for their right. “The policy of regularization has already been framed. Sham Lal Sharma was sincere in fulfilling his promise. However Rather and Lone scuttle it,” he said adding that non-regular employees have spent the precious years of their life in serving the government.
The daily wagers threatened that they will intensify their agitation and will come on roads on daily basis in case authorities did not regularize their services.
