All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC)—the PRI’s body that is spearheading and campaigning for the cause of temporary guards—gardeners of the rural development department protested against the administration on Thursday for alleged failure to do justice with the poor daily wage guards and gardeners.
Several guards and gardeners led by Anil Sharma, President of AJKPC, held protests against the J&K government for its non-serious approach to resolving the issues of these temporary workers, who for years have been peacefully praying for justice with them.
“Despite submitting over a dozen memoranda and letters with the Rural Development Department in Kashmir and Jammu, the government has not moved even an inch, showing its reluctance to adjust these poor Maali and Chowkidaar who were promised government jobs and who had even given their lands for setting up different government buildings and other infrastructure,” the AJKPC president told the media.
The agitating temporary employees said that decades have passed, but these gullible and poor temporary workers are not given any justice, and many of them have now surpassed the eligible age for absorption in regular recruitment for government jobs. Therefore, it is imperative that these innocent workers be given at least the status of daily wage workers and give appointment orders.
Sharma announced that all Panches and Sarpanches and all members of AJKPC stand with these Maali and Chowkidaars and their families, adding, “AJKPC is seeking legal opinion to approach the court of law to seek justice for these daily wagers, and in the meantime, next week they will submit a petition before the NHRC demanding the release of wages of these workers so that their families live a dignified life, which is a basic human right of every person.”