Excelsior Correspondent
LEH, Apr 26: As many as 34 women working as casual labourers for the past 30 years with 406 FPD today sat on dharna alleging that instead of regularizing them as per the verbal assurances of commanding officers they have been dis-engaged.
Demanding re-engagement, the protesting labourers alleged that currently they are allowed to work only for four days in a month which is not sufficient to sustain their families.
One of the labourers, Sonam Yangzin, resident of Sabu said that she had been working as labourer for 406 FPD since 1992 with starting monthly salary of Rs 700 which has now been increased to Rs 9000 but recently concerned commanding officer refused her to engage in works on the pretext of dearth of funds.
She said that now it is too late for them to join any other profession and Army must take them back. She claimed that at present there are 30 posts of labourers vacant for regularization for which they are demanding matriculate degrees and none of the labourer is matriculate to fulfill the criteria. She alleged that despite being women, they work akin to their male counterparts but this attitude of army towards female fraternity is totally discriminatory.
Nominated Councilor Rinchen Lhamo who also came out in support of the agitating labourers urged the concerned commanding officer to re-engage all the 34 women labourers.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved woman labourers also apprised Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Avny Lavasa, of their plight, who wrote Corps Commander, 14 Corps to settle the issue by re-engaging the dis-engaged women labourers.
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