The strike by PHE workers comprising daily wagers, CP workers, land donors and ITI trained workers has entered 17th day. No solution to the problem is in sight. The strike may continue indefinitely and general public will be suffering indefinitely. The established practice with the Government is to let the strike go on as long as it can just to wait it might fizzle out by itself and the Government can sleep in peace. The Government knows that the workers cannot continue indefinitely. The Government knows that the public will not come out in huge crowds on the streets and do acts that would paralyze the Government. After all this is a sloth affected people who do not know their rights leave aside how to fight for their rights. Yes if there are violations of individual rights they will fight for it but for collective good, they have many ifs and buts. That is why political punditry says that by and large the people get the Government they deserve. The live and conscious people would not allow such a dangerous strike to go on for more than one day. Either the Government must do something to meet their demands and put them back to work, or throw them out and replace them with a vast army of unemployed people including educated unemployed so that they are able to make both ends meet.
There are about 60,000 workers in all in the categories detailed above. They say their salary for so many months is in arrears. The officials confess that 112 crore rupees is the budget for remuneration/salary for these workers and that is not forthcoming. Incidentally rupees 300 crore are the arrears of their salary and remuneration etc. The Government says with tongue in the cheek that it has no money to pay. Just because these poor daily wagers do not make a constituency of any political leader, therefore, nobody would listen to them. What kind of democracy is this? The MLAs and MLCs just move their finger and pat comes the package for increased salaries and other unimaginable perks for them. Our democracy serves either the elected leaders or the bureaucrats. That is the sum total of our democracy. This is not the first time that these workers have gone on strike. It has become a recurring phenomenon.
Ten districts of Jammu are involved in water crisis. In particular, the kandi areas of Jammu being maximally affected are in a critical situation. People are obliged to drink unhygienic water and thus the danger of spread of water borne diseases is imminent. Sarpanchs have been protesting that knowing the PHE workers’ strike would cause serious difficulties to general public have failed to make alternate arrangements of supply of drinking water. Not only that, one Sarpanch said that he was thinking of filing a PIL in the High Court demanding that the Government make alternate arrangement because as the Government gives no indication of negotiating with the striking workers, the strike could continue for a long time and that will be very difficult for the people who depend on piped water.
The authorities say they have a limited number of water tankers and at least half of the available ones are deployed for supplying water to the city of Jammu. The question is firstly why has the Government been engaging daily wagers in such large numbers for a job that has direct public dealing? Secondly, why budget is not provided and why arrears should have accumulated to the whooping 300 crore rupees? Wherefrom is the Government going to get this money to clear the arrears? Obviously, as is the case, theGovernment will go with a begging bowl to the Union Government and supplicate for underwriting this huge amount of arrears. This is a lamentable commentary on the working culture of the PHE. We will suggest that PHE authorities make it an issue and involve the entire Government so that a solution is found. Thousands of daily wagers cannot be pushed to the wall. It is a human rights issue and no Government is authorized to vandalize the human rights of the workers and make their families suffer. The matter should be resolved within hours if there is an iota of responsibility left with the concerned authorities.
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