PHE daily wage workers’ strike enters 18th day

PHE daily wagers staging protest dharna in Jammu on Sunday. — Excelsior/Rakesh
PHE daily wagers staging protest dharna in Jammu on Sunday. — Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 2:  The PHE daily rated, ITI trained and CP workers’ strike continued on the 18th consecutive day today while agitating workers held  protest demonstration near Press Club here on Sunday.
A large number of PHE daily wagers assembled at Press Club in the morning and started protest demonstration. They were shouting slogans  against the PHE Minister,   Chief Engineer PHE and the BJP-PDP Government. The water supply in many rural and as well as urban areas has been affected with the strike.  Most of the water pumping stations, tube wells  and supply points are being operated by the temporary staff.
Today was the 18 th  day of  their continuous strike.  The CP workers/ turn cocks,   providing supplies to many urban and sub urban  localities  besides villages,   have gone on `Kam Chhorh Hartal’.  Not only in Jammu city and other major towns, the water supply position is not good in rural areas.
The workers  bearing black badges held protest and then sat on day long dharna at Press Club. They are not being allowed to sit in the PHE complex by the Administration  and  higher authorities in PHE on the plea   that Sections 144 has been imposed in that area by the District Magistrate, Jammu.
They have launched their strike under the banner of  All J&K PHE Daily Wagers, ITI Trained & CP Workers Association.  Tanveer Hussain, president  and Deepak Gupta vice president of the Association alleged that despite three months time given by the Government and PHE Minister Sham Choudhary,  their issues remained unresolved.  They said the general public is  suffering due to negative attitude of the Govt.  They alleged that process of  biometrics  as claimed by the minister to be completed in three months has been set aside. No separate Wage Head for the PHE daily wagers/ ITI trained and CP workers was created and the pending wages of nearly 38 months of the workers have remained unpaid.