Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 6: Police today foiled the bid of National Youth Corps’ (NYC) volunteers to block the Dogra Chowk and resorted to mild lathi charge to disperse them.
A large number of volunteers of National Youth Corps assembled in front of Press Club here this morning and lodged a strong protest demanding regularization of their service instead of terminating them.
Led by Asif Ali Bhat, State vice president of the NYC Association the slogan -shouting volunteers tried to move towards Dogra -Chowk from Press Club but the Police did not allow them to proceed further and created barricades in front of Press Club. This resulted into a scuffle between police and the volunteers forcing later to resort to mild lathi charge to disperse them.
The spokesman of the NYC Association, Bakir Ahmed Jafri said that seven volunteers were injured in lathi charge and they were shifted to GMC Hospital for treatment while five volunteers, were arrested by Nawabad Police and later released in the evening.
He warned that the Association will not be cowed down by the use of force against the peaceful struggle and will continue the same. He also warned that to intensify struggle the Association will resort to hunger strike.
Accusing the Government of backtracking from its promise, he said while in other States these volunteers were attached to Nehru Yuwa Kendra in J&K they were engaged in different Government offices and asked to perform duty like the regular employees in violation of Central Government’s guidelines. “We were given assurance that your services will be regularised and you will be absorbed in Government Departments by the authorities” he added.
Jafri said it appears that Government was now backtracking from its promise and there is a situation of “do and die” for them so the volunteers are left with no chance but to resort to peaceful agitation.
The Association is demanding continuation of the services of all 8000 volunteers appointed in the State with a guarantee of secure future, conversion of monthly honorarium into salary, enhancement of salary and extending the services of all volunteers in respective departments on the basis of experience gained by them.
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