             Kashmiri Pandits call off protest in Jammu
Aman Zutshi
Jammu: The protesting PM package employees on Saturday called off their several months long protest in Jammu saying that they will go back to their duties in Kashmir as they’re not able to continue their agitation because they have no financial sources left to sustain themselves without their salaries.
The employees were on a sit-in protest since the killing of Rahul Bhat, one of their employee who was killed in the month May last year at his government office in central Kashmir and Rajni Bala, a govt teacher, after which nearly all the Kashmiri migrant employees fled to Jammu.
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“We have not decided whether to go Kashmir or not, but temporarily we’re suspending our agitation”. said Ranjan Jotshi, vice-president of All Migrant Displaced Employees Association Kashmir (AMDEAK).
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“We have surrendered ourselves in front of this regime because we’re govt employees and we are not able to fight this powerful regime, from more than 300 days we have been narrating our ordeal to the govt”, he added.
“This administration has not given any chance to the agitating employees to put their demands freely, we have demanded relocation and attachment to Jammu till the situation becomes conducive in the valley”, he alleged.
“The govt even after more than 300 days has not paid any heed to our concerns, that’s why we’re surrendering ourselves to this powerful govt”, he remarked.
“The LG sir has told us several times that their gates are open for us 24hrs, but we received no aid”, he said.
“The employees are helpless and have been financially choked, no one supported us. We tried our best to put forward our issues to show the ground reality to the govt, so that we can be saved”, one of the protestors said.
“If we stay here our whole family will die and if we join there only an employee will die. Now, it is the job of govt to save our lives”, he added.
“There is no cordial milieu left and we wish the regime best. We don’t know about whether the reserved category employees, we’re calling off our protest”, he said while sobbing.
“No, we have only suspended our sit-in protest for somedays and we have now resorted to table talks with govt so that administration assures us security in the valley”, a female protestor said.
“We have tried to show the injustice happened with us to the administration because as citizens we can only stage protests to raise our matters, but the govt is not addressing our concerns”, she added.
“The govt has not paid our salaries from several months and they should contemplate how we’re managing our households and so many of us have ailing family members”, another woman protestor allegedly said.
“The govt has exploited us by putting our wages on hold. We have suspended our agitation to give to table talks so that our issues can be solved”, she asserted.
“Our core committee has reached this consensus to stop our protest for a while. Since the inception of our protest we have seen our employees”, a protestors said.
“Under the banner of All Migrant Displaced Employees Association Kashmir (AMDEAK) we ran this protest and we voiced our foremost demand that is security of employees, relocation and attachment in Jammu”, he added.
“Neither the local regime accepted our demands nor they rejected it instead they kept us all the time in-between”, he said.
“We are surrendering our lives in the hands of the govt because we have seen suffering employees and their families also and keeping all this in mind we’re calling off our protest and now it is in hands of govt to save our lives, this is our statement”, he further said.
