STATE TIMES NEWS
BUDGAM: Hundreds of tourists, mostly non-locals, were stranded outside the famous resort of Doodpathri in central Kashmir’s Budgam district after dozens of casual labourers staged a sit-in at the entry gate to press for their demands.
The watch and ward labourers have closed the Dodhpathri toll post at Raiyar to demand their pending wages of past nine months. “We are waiting here since today morning. No official has turned up here so far,” said Sidharth Singh, a tourist.
The protesters, on the other hand, are not relenting despite requests from the tourists. “We are working here from past more than seven years and we have been on toes while performing our duties. But the Development Authority has failed to clear our salaries of past nine months,” said a protester.
We apprised the authorities many a times but they didn’t pay any heed to our pleas, they added. The Chief Executive Officer Dodhpathri Development Authority Zahoor Ahmad Mir said that he has already taken up the matter with Secretary Tourism. “All their pending dues will be paid once our grants are cleared,” he added.
