Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 23: While the PHE daily rated, ITI trained and CP workers took out protest march from Press Club to the PHE complex B C Road here, their indefinite strike entered the 9th consecutive day today.
A large number of PHE daily wagers assembled at Press Club in the morning and started protest demonstration. They were shouting slogans against the PHE Minister, Chief Engineer and the BJP-PDP Government. With the ongoing strike the water supply position in many rural and as well as sub urban areas has turned grim. Most of the water pumping stations and tube wells are being operated by the temporary staff.
Today was the 9th day of their strike. Over 70 % of the water supply schemes are being manned by the temporary workers. The CP workers/ turn cocks, providing supplies to many urban and sub urban localities besides villages, have gone on `Kam Chhorh Hartal’.
As the workers in the shape of rally wearing black badges arrived at main gate of the PHE complex, the police men deployed there locked the gate and did not allow them to enter. Some trade unionists tried to climb over the gate to enter the premises, the police arrested three of them including union president Tanveer Hussain and two others namely-Surinder Kumar and Mohd Khan. They were released in the evening.
The workers, under the banner of All J&K PHE Daily Wagers, ITI Trained & CP Workers Association have launched their strike and protest programme. Tanveer Hussain, president and Deepak Gupta vice president of the Association alleged that despite three months time given by the Government and PHE Minister Sham Choudhary, their issues remained unresolved.
They said about 23,000 daily wagers are on strike. The people are suffering due to negative attitude of Govt. They alleged that process of biometrics as claimed by the Minister to be completed in three months has been abandoned. No separate Wage Head for the PHE daily wagers/ ITI trained and CP workers was created. Their pending wages of nearly 38 months have not been released till today.
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