Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 10: Police today lobbed water cannons and detained dozens of state government employees to foil their plan to stage a protest demonstration in Lal Chowk AREA in support of their demands.
The arrested include the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) member of the State Government employees, Mohammad Khursheed Alam.
Scores of employees owing allegiance to different factions of Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) assembled at the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department complex and raised their protest over the alleged negligence of the state government towards the demands of the employees. The employees raised slogans and reiterated to carry their struggle forward.
Addressing the protesting employees, JCC member and President of his faction of EJAC, Mohammad Khursheed Alam said that the State Government has backtracked from its commitment of fulfilling the demands of the Government employees. He said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had himself committed to fulfill the demands of the government employees.
“Last year in September we struck a deal with the state government according to which all our demands were accepted. However, with the passage of time some of the demands were not met and the situation continues to be same even today. There are some people within the bureaucracy who want that government and employees should be at loggerheads always,” said Alam.
The JCC member said that the demands of the State Government employees are just and government should not have any hesitation in fulfilling the same. demands. He alleged apathy from the Government saying that four and half lakh employees would observe one day strike in support of their demands on September 17.
The protesting employees after raising their protest at the CAPD complex intended to take out a protest rally upto the Lal Chowk. Led by Khursheed Alam the protesting employees wanted to make their presence felt at the city centre, however their plans were subverted by the police personnel present there.
Alam along with some of the employees were arrested near the Shaheed Gunj police just outside the CAPD complex while as the others managed to give police the slip and moved ahead.
As the protesters reached near the Old Secretariat the police cops swooped on them and asked them to refrain from moving towards the Lal Chowk. However, this did not go well with the employees and they moved ahead. On this the police cops pressed the service of a vehicle that is used to spray water cannons.
Due to the strong pressure of the water cannons the protesting employees could not move ahead and they dispersed.
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