SRINAGAR : At least 13000 National Health Mission (NHM) employees begin protest sit-in and 72-hour long hunger strike at Pratap Park in Srinagar demanding regularization of their services on Wednesday.
The protesting employees under the banner of All Jammu and Kashmir National Health Mission Employees Association assembled at Pratap Park amid anti-government sloganeering.
Protesters said, “We have on several occasions raised our genuine demands and grievances before different officials and ministers from time to time but not a single step was taken so far”.
They said that they have been working in the health department for last ten years on a less meager wages that too without any job or social security benefits like GP Fund, Pension, Leave benefits etc”.
“Some of us have given 10 years of service on contractual basis but they are yet to be regularized, it speaks volumes about the step motherly treatment of the state government with us”, said Dr Nighat Who hails from North Kashmir’s Sherri Baramulla.
They allege that they have been forced to take to streets to highlight their demands. “We have decided to go on 72 hour long protest sit-in and pen down strike from today if the government fails to fulfill our demands we may go for indefinite strike,” said Abdul Rouf, Spokesperson All J&K NHM Employees Association.
The strike may hit badly the healthcare in J&K as the hospitals in J&K are solely dependent on NHM Employees.
