Fulfill demands of protesting PHE workers immediately Tarigami

Jammu, February 17:(PTK) While assuring his full support to protesting casual laborers and daily wagers working in Public Health Engineering (PHE) department, who are on strike since February 7, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami Monday urged the J&K administration to fulfill their genuine demands without any further delay.

The protesters are demanding release of their pending wages, regularization, conduct of DPC of all cadre, filling up of vacant posts, repair/ maintenance of pumping houses/ water stations and basic facilities at water stations for the staff which are all genuine demands. Successive governments have failed to keep their promises with them.
The strike of these workers has affected water supply in many areas with general public suffering immensely. Many areas are reeling under water scarcity. The administration must talk to the representatives of the PHE employees and try to figure out  reasonable solution of  their issues urgently.
These workers have been working sincerely for the department for past many years, but unfortunately they have been neglected. The Government’s lackadaisical approach is the reason for the present crisis as successive Governments always made deceptive commitments to buy time and avoid the crisis.

It is apathetic on the part of the administration that instead of holding parleys with the workers on strike, it adopts coercive methods to avoid the crisis. Any problem kept unresolved concerning employees working in important departments affects badly the output and the performance of the government.

The administration must understand the difficulties faced by these workers who have no money to pay fee for their school going children or manage their day-to-day family affairs.

I urge the Lieutenant Governor G S Murmu to look into the issues pertaining to regularisation and release of wages to daily rated workers because their strike has impacted utility services leading to drinking water crisis especially in most of the areas in Jammu and Srinagar cities.