Bijay Charak
Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 16: Around 4200 casual workers of Power Development Department (PDD) in Jammu division are without salary for 18 months.
The casual workers have been regularly holding protests to demand their salary, a paltry Rs 3000, but to no avail. Slamming the government, a group of casual workers told Early Times that in last few years, dozens of their colleagues have either died or become handicapped due to electric shocks while in harness.
"It should have among the priorities of the government to give compensation to the families of our dead or handicapped colleagues. But that is not the case. Perhaps the casual workers are used as cannon fodder by the government," the workers said. They said that whenever a casual worker of the PDD is killed or maimed during harness, his file is closed with the officials writing that the deceased was not an employee of the department.
The casual workers said that a commission was constituted many a time by the department after each casual worker's death in harness. "But it was shocking that these committees mentioned in their reports that the workers had taken medicines or they were drunk," they said.
When contacted Executive Engineer Jammu-I, AK Chibber said the government had not released funds so far, hence the delay in salaries of the casual workers.
"I have discussed the matter with the higher authorities. When they will release grants, the salaries will be distributed," said Chibber. |
