Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 1: The casual labourers of the Wild Life Department today staged a protest against the non-payment of their dues which are lying pending since 2019.
The workers said that since 2019, they have been paid the wages of only one month while the rest is lying pending.
“The permanent employees who are getting regular handsome salaries are finding it difficult to feed their families at the same time one can imagine our plight when we are not being paid even a penny so that we could feed our families,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, one of the protestors.
Under the banner of Wildlife Joint Casual Labourers’ Union, the protestors demanded that their issues are solved without any further delay while adding that their pending wages are released forthwith.
“We are facing numerous hardships and at the same time we appeal to the Chief Wildlife Warden to clear the file lying pending regarding the outsourcing; we appeal him to forward the same to the finance department,” they said.
The workers said that they have been working tirelessly for the department and have been at the forefront of the man-animal conflicts being reported almost everywhere.
“We have been on the forefront and have become the backbone of the department; be it anti-grazing, anti-poaching drives, we are always on the front; we appeal to the higher-ups to kindly address our issues without any further delay,” the protestors said.
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