Jammu, November 20, 2022: The Reserved Category Employees protest entered its 169th day on Sunday at Ambedkar Chowk in Jammu. The protest began when targeted killings by the terrorists operating in Kashmir started in the month of May, after which the ‘Reserved Category employees and ‘PM package employees’ began demonstrating agitations demanding transfer to safe security zones in their home districts in J&K UT and release of withheld salaries by govt from past some months.
Speaking to the media, a protestor allegedly said that it has been 169 days since they started the agitation for their demands in Jammu. He further said that two days ago a accident happened in Doda district in which two officers died and there was scope that their lives could be saved at District Hospital Doda, but instead they were referred to GMC, Jammu where they succumbed to their injuries.
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“We are on the target of terrorists there as well as non-local labourers and people from a specific religion. Just two days ago a police officer called us and said that we are safe in Jammu, but I want to ask the local regime, on one hand they are saying that we are not safe in Kashmir and on the other they have introduced mandatory bio-metric attendance for government employees, is this justifiable”. If the administration believes that a war is going on there in Kashmir then why they are forcing us to be its cannon fodder. We are begging govt to save our lives and release our salaries, but they are not showing any concern or sympathy towards us”, he said.
He added that some journalists told them they have been taking benefit of this situation and demanding salaries without doing any work.
“I want to say that they have failed to understand our plight. In 2008 we were posted in Kashmir and since then we have seen and lived the turmoil there for a decade”, he said.
Aman Zutshi
