Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 15: The police today detained scores of PM package employees including half a dozen female employees who were protesting near Press Club here demanding release of their last eight months salaries and relocation to Jammu.
The protesting package employees staged the demonstration near Press Club this morning and as they tried to move towards Press Club premises the police created barricades in the way and did not allow them to move ahead in view of the imposition of Section 144 in the area.
However when the protesting employees tried to cross the barricades and jostled with police, they were put in the police vehicles and taken to District Police Lines (DPL), Gandhi Nagar. Later they were released in the evening.
The protestors raising slogans in support of their demands continued protest in the police vehicles against the authorities. They accused the Government of not releasing their salaries even on the holy festival of Maha Shivratri.
The protestors’ alleged that the Government’s claim of releasing salaries of those employees who have joined their duties in Valley is also an eye wash as maximum employees among them are also without salaries for last eight months. They asked that when holy festival is only two days away how can the salaries be paid in such a short span of time to these hapless employees.
The protesting employees are demanding relocation /attachment/ deployment to Jammu in wake of target killings, constant threat letters which have elevated fear-psychosis among the employees. They said that they must not be sent back to land of perpetrators till conducive environment is developed otherwise they have all apprehensions of being subjected to targeted killings there.
They appealed Lt.Governor, Manoj Sinha for immediate release of withheld salaries on eve of Maha-Shivratri without any condition and finding an amicable solution through table talks to bring back lost confidence among helpless employees .
Later the protesting employees marched to BJP office and met party president, Ravinder Raina demanding his intervention in the matter.
Raina, while addressing the package employees said the party has already taken up the issue with Government and LG is out of UT at present. He assured them that he will take up the issue with LG Manoj Sinha on phone and try his level best that the salaries of both package and reserved category employees be released prior to holy festival.
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