Cong won’t allow use of Covid warriors like tissue papers: Bhalla

JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla interacting with protesting NHM-ECRP employees at Jammu.
JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla interacting with protesting NHM-ECRP employees at Jammu.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 8: JKPCC working president, Raman Bhalla today expressed serious resentment over callous attitude of both Union Govt and LG Administration for forcing scores of NHM paramedics who were engaged under the Emergency COVID Response Package (ECRP) to protest amidst third Covid-19 wave by not regularizing their services.
This was stated by Bhalla after meeting Covid-19 warriors/ NHM-ECRP employees at their protest venue alongwith JKPCC chief spokesman Ravinder Sharma, Youth Congress president J&K, Uday Bhanu Chib besides others.
Speaking on the ocassion, Bhalla criticized use and throw policy of Govt, saying that these paramedics deserve regularization of their services as govt had engaged them in 2019 to work as frontline workers in the Health sector and now Govt is playing with their careers which is highly uncalled for especially when Covid-19 wave is approaching us with all guns blazing. He said at a time when new COVID variants were creating havoc across the country and the threat was looming large in J&K, their services should be regularized henceforth.
They were promised that their services will be regularized if they serve during the Covid period but in the month of September, they were handed over termination letters. Later, LG Manoj Sinha personally visited them at the protest site and assured 3 months of extension in services and priority in recruitment of regular posts, ” he added.
“The LG had assured them extension in services and priority in regular posts but all the assurances were verbal and no written order was passed in this connection,” he said, adding they are 1600 in number but the J&K administration has advertized only 92 posts. He said that all 1600 employees should be adjusted and their services continued under the present NHM policy.
Demanding early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Ravinder Sharma said that lackadiascal approach of the bureaucracy in absence of a democratically elected popular government was also one of reasons for non-filling of vacant posts in various government departments. He said administration has failed to fill up 50,000 vacancies on fast track basis which had been identified two years ago. He accused Centre of “only doing lip service” to create jobs for youth of Jammu and Kashmir, adding that their assurances in this regard were far from reality on the ground zero.