Agitating PHE daily wagers, casual labourers cane-charged

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 23: Police charged batons on daily wagers, casual labourers and workers of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department here today when they came out in protest at Residency Road to demand regularization.
Scores of PHE daily wagers, casual labourers and workers assembled at the Press Enclave here and raised slogans against the Government. They alleged that despite putting more than 14 years service in the department their services have not been regularized.
“Our demand for regularization is genuine since we have put in more than 14 years of service as daily wagers. But the top hierarchy of the department is resorting to delaying tactics and as such our regularization has been delayed. The Government should come out with the list of the persons whose cases are fit for regularization,” said the protesters.
They said that the persons engaged on daily basis during 1994 and 2005 should be regularized while as the casual labourers engaged between 2005 and 2011 should be paid wages. They threatened to launch an agitation in case these demands are not conceded by the Government.
The protesters argued with the police personnel posted at Press Enclave. While the protesters wanted to take out a protest rally through the main city, the police personnel objected saying that this cannot be allowed as Section 144 is in force.
Some of the protesters tried to break free the cordon and tried their best in carrying out the procession. But this attempt was thwarted by the police as they resorted to lathi-charge on them. Some of the protesters suffered minor injuries while some others were detained by the police personnel.