Srinagar, 8 July (H.S.): As their protest entered the 12th consecutive day without any breakthrough, daily wagers of the Power Development Department (PDD) intensified their agitation on Sunday by launching a hunger strike, aiming to mount pressure on the authorities to meet their long-pending demands.

Led by Akhil Sharma under the banner of the All J&K PDD, PDL, TDL and Other Workers Union, the protest began on June 26 outside the JKPDCL office at Bahu Plaza. The primary demand of the agitating workers is immediate financial concurrence for the regularization of 557 daily-rated workers, whose cases have already been approved by the Board of Directors (BOD) of Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and are based on Regularization Rules vetted by the Law Department.

With no positive response from the authorities so far, the protesting employees—who have gathered from various districts of Jammu province—took the extreme step of going on a hunger strike, underlining the gravity of the situation. They raised slogans against the JPDCL management, demanding urgent action on regularization and long-pending wage payments.

Displaying placards and banners, the workers condemned what they termed the “apathetic attitude” of the JPDCL authorities towards their legitimate issues. Union leaders lambasted JPDCL for the continued delay in obtaining financial concurrence, stressing that the regularization policy was framed over three years ago and should have been implemented without bureaucratic hurdles. They also expressed deep anger over years of unpaid wages, which they said has worsened their economic condition.

The protesting daily wagers, who have also ceased work, cautioned that any disruption in electricity supply would be the sole responsibility of the JPDCL management. They reminded the authorities of the crucial role played by these workers in maintaining essential power services, especially under hazardous and difficult conditions and appealed for immediate redressal of their grievances.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar