Srinagar: At least four employees were hurt and scores detained on Wednesday when police used force to quell thousands of employees protesting against the alleged government failure in meeting their genuine demands.
Eyewitnesses told Kashmir Dispatch that thousands of government employees under the banner of Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) assembled at Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution office, Shaheed Gunj this afternoon and tried to take out a rally demanding the fulfillment of long-pending demands.
Chanting anti-government and pro-employee slogans, when the protesters reached near Amira Kadal Bridge, a heavy posse of people intercepted the marchers. However, the employees offered stiff resistance and tried to break the police cordon.
Later, police swung into action and used water cannons and batons to disperse the protesters. Scores of employees who were marching towards the city centre were also detained by police and whisked to Shaheed Gunj, Maisuma, Koti Bagh and Raj Bagh police stations.
The employees have been demanding increase of 10 percent DA at par with Central government employees, release of pay commission arrears, and raising of retirement age to 60. Other demands include regularization of about 50000 ad hoc and other temporary employees, and redressal of pay anomalies in different cadres.
Senior JCC leader and president Employees Joint Action Committee (Q), Khursheed Alam said that the demonstrations by the government employees to press their genuine demands were held across Jammu and Kashmir today. He claimed four hundred employees were arrested by police from the summer capital in a bid to foil their march.
“The employees are being taken for a ride. The government has done nothing to fulfill our genuine demands. The government should implement the Cabinet-Sub Committee report without further delay,” Alam said.
“There is inflation in entire India, why employees in Jammu and Kashmir are left out?” he asked.
Riyaz Ahmad, an employee of the state road transport corporation told this correspondent that the government was resorting to dilly delaying tactics to meet the demands of the employees.
“Our demands are justified. Five years have passed but the government has not released our arrears. Even the employees working in various departments for over a decade now haven’t been regularized,” he added.
A senior police officer wishing not to be named told Kashmir Dispatch that fifty employees were taken into preventive custody during the protests.
"Only fifty protesters were taken into preventive custody," he added.
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