Over 80 arrested, road blocked for 3 hrs
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 28: Scores of PHE daily wagers’ were arrested by police after they held strong protest demonstration at Dogra Chowk near main Tawi bridge and blocked road for about three hours in support of their long pending demands here today.
They were demanding release of their pending wages of about 70 months and regularisation of their services. Their strike and protest dharna continued on the 220th consecutive day today as the J&K UT authorities have failed to address their issue despite several assurances. A long traffic jam was created for long on the road as hundreds of protesting workers sat on dharna on the busy road near MA Stadium. The police failed to restore traffic for long.
Jal Shakti workers are on strike since June 22, 2022. They are demanding release of their pending wages and regularization of their services. Despite several rounds of talks with higher authorities in the Department, their issues could not be resolved despite Lt Governor’s assurance.
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A large number of PHE workers from various Divisions and Sub- Divisions in Jammu assembled near Press Club Jammu at around 12 noon and then moved towards Dogra Chowk, under Flyover. They sat on dharna on the road and blocked the road. They were raising loud slogans in support of their demands and also against the UT Administration, LG and the Chief Secretary.
They have launched their protest under the banner of PHE United Front at BC Road Complex. They were also shouting slogans LG and BJP and other higher authorities in the J&K UT. Later, a strong contingent of police reached there and used force to clear the road. They pulled many workers dragged them into the vehicles and detained them for several hours at DPL Gandhinagar. During physical clash with the cops, a few workers received minor injuries. The road was cleared at around 3 pm.
The employees representatives including, Ravi Hans, Hoshiar Singh, Rajinder Singh, Rakesh Kumar and others said that they have decided not to call off strike until an order is issued by the Government. They appealed to the Divisional Commissioner Jammu to honor his commitment made on October 17 meeting. They claimed that about half a dozen workers were injuries during clash with police and more than 80 were detained by police during protest. They were, however, released in the evening.
These workers are demanding regularization, enhancement of Minimum Wages as per Central norms in J&K UT and release of pending wages of 70 months of PHE workers.
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