Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 25: The casual labourers of Tourism Department today locked the main gates of the Directorate of Tourism and burnt the effigy of Director of Tourism Department in protest against non-payment of their salaries.
The protesters were chanting slogans against the Tourism Department officials. They said they have not been paid salaries since July, 2014.
“The Tourism Department lapsed Rs 11 crores during 2014-2015 financial year, but it is strange that our salaries are not released”, said one protestor.
The protesters said that they have cleaned all offices and parks of the department after floods. “Instead of releasing our salaries we have been forced to face starvation”, they said. The protesters said they don’t want to come on roads but official apathy is forcing them to do so.
The protesters included computer operators, peons, security guards and employees belonging to registration section of the Tourism Department.
They said even though they are keeping proper watch and ward of assets and maintaining parks of the department they are meted out step motherly treatment by the department.
The protesters charged the tourism officials with getting hefty commissions by outsourcing landscaping and maintenance of parks to contractors. “When we maintained parks the department incurred only Rs 60 Lakh on our salaries but since they began outsourcing the work the department incurred Rs 1.2 for a period of 6 months”, a protester said.
The protesters demanded cancellation of tenders and release of pending salaries and threatened they would intensify protests if their demands were not met immediately.
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