Kashmiri Pandit employees on Saturday decided to intensify their ongoing strike, hours after their first meeting with the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration over their main demand of relocation to safer places remained “inconclusive”.
On Friday night, a 25-member delegation, representing the Kashmiri Pandit employees, met J&K lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha and top government officials at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.
“During the meeting, J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha assured us that all of our problems will be resolved,” said a spokesperson for the Kashmiri Pandits deputed in the Valley under the PM package, which was launched for the rehabilitation of the community in 2008. “We presented a memorandum to the Lt Governor. But our main demand is relocation to safer places. Till then the protest will go on.”
Following killing of an employee, Rahul Bhat, who was posted in the tehsil office in Chadoora, on May 12, hundreds of KP employees have been holding sit-in protests across Kashmir while boycotting their duties. The protesting employees had petitioned the government to relocate them to district headquarters where they could be put up in secure locations.
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{{/usCountry}}Friday night’s meeting was the first formal talks between the protesting employees and the J&K administration. “The first meeting didn’t yield any result. The second round of talks will be held within a week’s time,” said Sandeep Kumar, another representative of the KP employees’ association. “The protest will continue as our only demand is relocation and repeal of bond, which the employees have to sign before getting the government job. Nothing short of that, in any circumstances, will fulfil our demands.”
A spokesperson for the J&K government said the delegation apprised the Lt Governor of their various issues and concerns and sought his intervention for their early redressal. “The Lt Governor gave a patient hearing to the members of the delegation and assured them that the issues projected by them would be looked into earnestly for their redressal on priority.”
“The government will do everything possible to address their grievances,” the spokesperson added.