Over 10 health workers injured in police lathi-charge;Protesters stop CM’s vehicle, demand one year’s salary

STATE TIMES NEWS
KATHUA: Over 10 members of Female Multipurpose Health Workers Union were injured when police resorted to lathi-charge and prevented them for submitting a copy of memorandum to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Kathua district.
Nadda with Mehbooba Mufti, Union Minister in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, J&K Health Minister Bali Bhagat laid foundation of Government Medical College and Hospital in Kathua. Similar foundation was also laid in Doda district.
Seeking regularisation and release of their pending salaries, the employees under the banner of Female Multipurpose Health Workers, this afternoon, when reached at the venue to submit a copy of memorandum to Nadda and Mehbooba Mufti, were not allowed to proceed by heavy deployment of the police contingents.
Earlier, the Female Multipurpose Health Workers (FMHWs) who are on protest for the last 26 days, stopped the vehicle of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in front of the District Hospital Kathua when she was on her way to inaugurate the Kathua Medical College on Saturday.
The police immediately swung into action and dispersed them.
The protestors were already on three days strike while a complete shutdown was also observed in Jammu Division except emergency services. All revenue generating counters remained closed, even the OPD slips were not issued. “Employees from various districts of Jammu province reached Kathua to submit a memorandum to the Union Minister and Chief Minister after the conclusion of the programme in a peaceful manner to project their demands before the government,” said an employee.
He said that the administration detained them and shifted to the police station and alleged that police resorted to Lathi-charge to disperse the employees and at least five of them including women got injured.
“We resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse the protestors, who were forcefully trying to disrupt the function,” a police official said.
He said that they also clashed with the police and four of the police personnel including two lady constables, a constable and senior police officers also sustained minor injuries in the incident.
Injured employees who were shifted to Jammu were identified as Kamla Devi, Karmo Devi, Kuldeep Dabgotra and Choudhary Aslam.
Complete strike was observed in the entire Division and will continue till June 14 with ‘Jammu Chalo Call’.
Meanwhile, Senior Vice President PCC and former Minister Congress Sham Lal Sharma condemned the lathicharge on FMPHWs at Kathua. Sharma said that these female employees wanted to meet CM for redressal of their long pending grievances but the authorities didn’t allowed them to meet instead they were brutally lathicharged. He said that out of these FMPHWs two female workers sustained grievous injuries as a result of unprovoked lathicharge.
Sham Lal said that present government’s slogan of ‘Beti Padao Beti Bachao’ has proved hollow today by using brutal force on female health workers. In a joint statement issued here, PCC Chief Spokesman Ravinder Sharma said it is the right of the people to agitate peacefully for their demands.
However, ever since this government has taken over, such protests have been ruthlessly curbed by the use of brute force.
They said the only answer with the Government to the demands of various sections of society is the police lathis. The voice of the people could not be crushed like this, he added. Former Minister Raman Bhalla also condemned the action of the Government in which the protesters were brutally lathi-charged.