Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 23: All J&K RTC Voluntarily Retired Employees Association held protest here today demanding release of the gratuity, leave salary and COLA arrears of the VRS given J&K Road Transport workers.
A large number of VRS given employees of the JKRTC led by Association president, Dev Raj Bali gathered near Press Club of Jammu today at around 10.30 am and held strong protest demonstration. They were shouting slogans in support of their demands and also against the higher authorities in the Transport and Finance Department for causing delay in releasing their leave salary, gratuity, COLA and other pending arrears.
They alleged that their bills have been prepared but Finance and Transport authorities in the JKUT are causing delay for the reason best known to the officers at the helm of affairs. They are harassing the hapless workers for their no fault, they alleged.
While addressing the workers, Dev Raj Bali said that during their long struggle of about 12 years, about 75 VRS accorded JKRTC workers have breathed their last as they could not afford proper treatment due to lack of much needed their hard earned money. The SRTC Management is responsible for the irreparable loss to their families, he alleged.
He said the senior officers were giving them only false assurances but nothing on the ground was done for them. He pointed out that there are arrears worth Rs 16.76 crores pending of the 742 VRS/GHS employees of RTC in the Jammu and Kashmir, which should be released without any more delay.
Bali urged the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene into the matter and provide much awaited justice to the VRS given JKRTC workers.
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