Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 8: On 23rd day of their ongoing hunger strike for regularization, Contractual Lecturers today tried to take out a protest march from Press Club to Bikram Chowk but their attempt was foiled by Police.
Carrying banners and shouting slogans against the Government and in support of their demand for regularization, the protesters held a demonstration near the Press Club Parking and then marched towards Dogra Chowk.
However, the alert Polic-emen, deployed there, stopped the march and did not allow Contractual Lecturers to move forward thus forcing the latter to retrieve after holding a demonstration for some time amidst raising of slogans.
As the protesting Contractual Lecturers did not confront with the cops, Police also maintained restraint.
The agitating Contractual Lecturers (10+2) are demanding their regularization as per the Civil Services Special Provision Act.2010, a policy framed for the regularization of all the ad-hoc/contractual/consolidated employees after rendering seven years of services.
One of the senior Contr-actual Lecturer, Vinod Kumar is on fast unto death since February 14 and groups of other Contractual Lecturers are joining him by observing a chain hunger strike.
Today, former minister and Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma visited the agitating Contractual Lecturers and extended his full support to them. He lambasted the PDP-BJP Government for its callous attitude towards genuine demand of the Contractual Lecturers.
Arun Bakshi, state president of All J&K Contractual Lectu-rers (10+2) Forum, also addressed the gathering and said that the apathetic attitude of the Government towards them speaks of its disregard for the teaching community
Others, who addressed the protesters, included Jeevan Ku-mar, Sangeeta, Seema, Balvi-nder, Reva, Rajni, Kanchan, Asha, Ranjana, Rajni and Payal.
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