Srinagar, Feb 07 (KNO): Hundreds of employees of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), including permanent staff and daily wagers, on Saturday staged a protest at the Corporation’s headquarters in Karan Nagar, demanding release of their pending salaries and a concrete policy for regularisation.
Led by SMC Employees Association President Nazir Ahmad Ahanger and Workers Union President Mohammad Ramzan Sheikh, the employees gathered inside the main premises, shouting slogans against what they called “deliberate neglect” by the authorities.
The protesters, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), claimed that they have not been paid their wages for the last three months, leaving thousands of families struggling to make ends meet.
“We are the backbone of civic services in Srinagar, from sanitation to street cleaning, yet our own homes are in darkness. Our children are being sent back from schools because we cannot pay fees,” said one of the protesting employees.
Another employee said they have approached the administration several times, but their pleas have gone unheard.
“Every time we are assured that dues will be released soon, but nothing ever happens. We are left to manage loans and debts just to feed our families,” he said.
Daily wagers, many of whom have worked with the Corporation for years, demanded a time-bound policy for their regularisation.
“We have given our youth to this department without any job security. We deserve to be treated with dignity,” one of them said.
The employees warned of intensifying the agitation across all municipal wards of the city if the government fails to release their wages and address their concerns soon—(KNO)