Noisy scenes in Assembly as members flag lathi charge on protesting daily wagers

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Tuesday as members cutting across party lines raised the issue of lathi charge and detention of protesting daily wage employees of the Jal Shakti department demanding release of wages and regularisation of jobs.

As the House assembled for the day, BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa raised the issue of massive protests by the daily wagers, highlighting the lathi charge on them and their subsequent detention.

Several BJP members backed Randhawa as he stressed the need for the government to address the issues.

National Conference members Mir Saifullah and B A Veeri also raised the issue along with Congress’ Nizamuddin Bhat.

Despite Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather’s request to sit down and let the Question Hour commence, the members continued to raise the issue briefly, leading to noisy scenes in the House.

Scores of protesting Jal Shakti (PHE) department workers and daily wagers were lathi-charged and detained on Monday in Jammu and Srinagar, as they marched towards the Assembly and the chief minister’s residence.

The PHE authorities have failed to release their pending wages for about 85 months. Despite assurances from the administration, their regularisation remains pending.

The protesters have threatened to go on strike from March 20 if their demands are not met.

Last year too the daily wagers held long strikes demanding the release of their pending wages and regularisation of their jobs.

Despite several rounds of talks with the higher authorities, their issues remain unresolved.

The daily wagers have accused the government of neglecting their longstanding demands, stating that despite assurances, no concrete steps have been taken towards their regularisation or wage revision. (PTI)