Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Feb 11
TEAM JAMMU today extended full support to agitating All J&K NHM Employees’ Association, Jammu Province who are sitting on fast unto death at Exhibition Ground, here.
Thos who are sitting on fast unto death included Rohit Seth, Muneer Ahmad, Dr Raman Kumar Sharma, Mohammad Azam and Dr Ramnik Singh.
Thousands of NHM employees including women drawn from various parts of Jammu and other districts of the Province assembled at Exhibition Ground raised slogans and demanded regularization of their services and fulfillment of their other already agreed demands.
Hundreds of volunteers of Team Jammu led by its Chairman, Zorawar Singh Jamwal also raised slogans against the Government for adopting delaying tactics on fulfillment of genuine demands of NHM employees.
Addressing the protesting employees, Zorawar Singh Jamwal came down heavily on the function of government turning deaf ears towards the long pending demands of striking employees. “For how long it (govt) will take youth of J&K for granted? For how long youth would come on roads and protest that too for their rightful share?” questioned Zorawar Singh Jamwal and further castigated leaders of different political parties who just come and leave the dharna site with mere assurances.
Demanding immediate fulfilment of demand of regularization of NHM employees who are serving since more than one decade, Chairman Team Jammu, Zorawar Singh Jamwal stated that more than 12000 employees are working in J&K under different schemes of NHM and most of them have already crossed the age of upper limit, adding that NHM is the only backbone of health care system so Government should acknowledge them and regularize their services.
Zorawar Singh appealed to Governor, S P Malik not to test the patience of agitating employees and concede demands that included immediate regularization of jobs, maximum increment to all NHM employees, particularly for Paramedics and Management staff and implementation of the policy of ‘equal pay for equal work’ and also implementation of 7th Pay Commission for NHM employees as has already been done in case of other Centrally sponsored schemes like SSA.
NHM office bearers Dr Aru8n Deol and Faizaan Ali Tramboo while thanking Team Jammu for its support to striking employees highlighted that “The government has neglected us and has no regard for our social or financial security. Our colleagues died but their kin have been left to beg for their survival,” they said.
“Authorities at the helm failed to fulfill the commitments made by the then Minister for Health, Principal Secretary H&ME and Mission Director NHM with us on January 22 last year,” they alleged.
Sardar Karan Deep Singh Lucky, Simant Singh, Sunil Raipuria, Surinder Sharma, Sunil Gupta, Bhanu Partap Singh, Ishan Chowdhary, Yogesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar were among others present on the occasion.
