Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 22: The protest rally of the MG-NREGA employees of the Rural Development Department (RDD) towards Civil Secretariat was foiled by strong contingent of Police when it resorted to cane-charge the protesting workers on Shalamar Road here today.
On the 12th consecutive day of their protest programme, a large number of employees under the banner of All J&K MGNREGA Employees Association assembled at Exhibition Ground in the morning and then started protest demonstration. The workers from various districts of Jammu region and many parts of Kashmir province also joined the protest program. They were demanding regularization of all type of workers engaged under MG-NREGA.
Provincial president for Jammu, Sandeep Kalotra and president Kashmir Division, Jan Mohd besides others also addressed the gathering and alleged that despite assurance by the RDD Minister to frame a definite policy for the regularization of MG-NREGA workers nothing has been done so far. They said that these workers including GRS, Technical Assistants, MIS Operators are being exploited by the Government and are being provided just peanut salaries. Many of them are highly qualified and they are going to be over aged. They warned the Government to frame the policy for the regularisation of these workers otherwise they will intensify the agitation.
After protest demonstration the agitating workers moved towards Civil Secretariat. From two other locations also the workers moved towards Civil Secretariat. When they reached on Shalamar Road, the police and paramilitary force men raised barricades and stopped their movement. They showed some resistance but the cops resorted to mild lathicharge and made the protesting workers to flee from the area. The movement of vehicles was also disrupted during the protest program.
Most of the workers were carrying banners and placards in their hands depicting their demands. They had planned to conduct gherao of the Civil Secretariat but it was foiled by the a strong contingent of police and paramilitary force.
Prominent among others who addressed gathering included Tariq Zara, Sandeep Sharma, Satwant Singh, Farooq Ahmed, Sajjad Bhat, Young Bahadur, Arun Kumar, Kumkum Sharma, Lal Hussain and others.
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