Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 22: A massive protest march by daily wagers of the Public Health Engineering (PHE)/Jal Shakti Department was thwarted today by the police, leading to injuries and unconsciousness among five protestors after a lathi charge was used to disperse them. The workers, demanding regularization of their services and the release of pending wages, had gathered in large numbers as part of their 72-hour-long strike.
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The protesting daily wagers, under the banner of the PHE Employees United Front, Jammu Province, assembled at the old PHE office on BC Road this morning before marching towards the Civil Secretariat while chanting slogans in support of their demands. However, police had already placed barricades near the MLA Hostel and Indira Chowk to prevent their forward movement. When some protesters attempted to cross the barricades, the police resorted to a cane charge to disperse them, leading to chaos at the scene.
During the clash, three daily wagers-Ravi Hans (a member of the United Front), Omkar Singh, and Kamaljeet Singh-sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, two others, Kuldeep Singh and Kamal Sharma, reportedly fell unconscious during the commotion. The injured protesters were provided medical aid, and their condition is said to be stable.
Leaders of the PHE Employees United Front, including Rajinder Singh Taj, strongly criticized the National Conference-led government for its continued failure to address the longstanding demands of the daily wagers. They accused the administration of using delaying tactics despite repeated assurances before elections.
“Today is World Water Day, and instead of addressing the concerns of workers who ensure the supply of drinking water to people, the Government has given us the gift of a lathi charge,” Taj remarked angrily. He further accused successive governments of deceiving daily wagers with empty promises and termed the formation of a new committee as another stalling measure.
“For decades, we have been betrayed. Governments come and go, but our demands remain unheard. They keep offering us false assurances, but these ‘lollypops’ cannot feed our families,” Taj asserted. He also pointed out the disparity in governance, stating, “While the Chief Minister can approve a hike in the salaries of MLAs and increase their constituency development fund to Rs 4 crore, he conveniently ignores the plight of poor daily wagers. If they care about us, let the MLAs transfer their salaries to our department’s wage account, so we can finally receive our hard-earned wages.”
The J&K Government, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a six-member committee to examine issues related to the regularization of daily wage workers in the Union Territory. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier stated that the committee would devise a roadmap for addressing the regularization concerns, which would be presented in the next budget session.
However, the protesting daily wagers remain skeptical. Rajinder Singh Taj questioned the necessity of another committee when all details related to daily wagers are already available with senior officials. “This is nothing but an attempt to mislead and delay justice for us. The Government must stop playing games with our livelihoods,” he stated.
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