Several detained as police foils protest march by daily wagers

Daily wagers protesting in Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
Daily wagers protesting in Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 19: Nearly a dozen protesters were taken into preventive custody after a group of daily wagers tried to take out a protest march in support of their demands here on Wednesday.
All J&K Daily Wagers Sangharsh Samiti announced the march from Maulana Azad Stadium to Civil Secretariat to press for implementation of Minimum Wages Act and regularization of their services.
According to the officials, the protesters, including a group of Asha workers, assembled on the main road outside the stadium and staged a protest, shouting slogans against the Government and the Lieutenant Governor.
As they tried to march towards the Civil Secretariat, police detained about a dozen of the protesters and dispersed the rest including women.
“We planned the protest rally to invite the attention of the Government towards our long pending demands for regularization and implementation of Minimum Wages Act ahead of the upcoming budget session,” Chairman of the samiti Sunny Kant Chib told reporters here.
He said they have been rendering their services in different departments for the past three decades and want the Government to provide them “justice”.