Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 7: Flaying the suppression, exploitation and harassment of women Anganwadi workers, helpers and ReT teachers by the ominous BJP-PDP Government who are agitating on the roads for their long pending wages and regularization of services, Balwant Singh Mankotia State president of NPP along with other party activists observed 24 hours hunger strike in support of their legitimate rights near Hari Singh statue at Tawi bridge in Jammu today. Click here to watch video
Supporting the cause of Anganwadi workers agitating on the roads, Balwant Singh Mankotia took the Coalition Govt to task for turning a deaf ear to their shrill cries for justice. “The responsibilities of Anganwadi workers and helpers are extremely significant as they ensure proper care for pregnant women, new born children and nursing mothers. The women and child development is under serious threat with Anganwadi workers and helpers protesting on the roads for their demands. The women employees are being maltreated in our State which has made a mockery of the Saffron slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.
“ The Govt does not even shy away from executing baton charge on the women folk and use force to gag the voice of the protesting workers” , anguished Mankotia said.
He sought the release of the pending wages of Anganwadi workers/helpers and enhancement of their honorarium. He said that engaging the said workers and helpers for a paltry honorarium of 3600 p.m and Rs. 1600 p.m, respectively was the biggest injustice besides human rights violation of grave nature. He said that womenfolk working on meagre wages which was probably the lowest as compared to their counterparts working in other states of the country also amounted to worst form of exploitation as it defied the salary prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act. He demanded the revision of wages of Anganwadi workers and helpers to a minimum of Rs 10,000 p.m and Rs 6000 pm, respectively.
Prominent among those who sat on hunger strike included Shankar Singh Chib, Gagan Pratap Singh, Shiv Dev Singh, Kewal Krishan Sharma, Ravinder Jamwal, Manoj Gupta, Subhash Singh, Tarun Chauhan, Rafiq Chandel, Jatinder Sharma, Pratap Singh and others.
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