Consider WFH for PM package employees

Omkar Dattatray

BJP government of centre and the LG government of UT seems reluctant to accept the genuine demand of their relocation from Kashmir valley and both the governments have made it clear that package and other Hindu employees posted across Kashmir will not be relocated/transferred to Jammu. The government says that adequate security will be provided to these employees and they will be transferred to safer locations within Kashmir and the process of transferring these employees to the headquarters has been started and it is in process. But it is not going to address the security concerns of the package employees and other Jammu employees who are demanding their transfer temporarily to Jammu division but the government is in no mood to accept the genuine demand of relocation to Jammu and other states of India of the package employees and the transfer to the home districts of the Jammu employees working across the Kashmir. A WFH medium should be framed to address the genuine security concerns of the package employees and the Jammu employees posted across Kashmir valley. The government had allowed its employees and then corporate sector also had allowed the employees work from home during the coronavirus for about two years and still some employees of the private companies are working from home. Taking a cue from it the Jammu and Kashmir UT should consider the genuine demand of the package and other Jammu employees of WFH -work from home during the time when targeted killings are taking place. There is fear and panic among the package employees and they reel under fear psychosis and want their relocation outside the Kashmir but the government has said that it is not going to accept this demand of the package employees. So the UT government of LG should consider the viable option of WFH to tide over the uncertainty and crises. In the prevailing conditions and circumstances there is genuine need to allow the package employees to work from home. The government should be pragmatic and should not be rigid and should not make the issue of the security concerns of the package employees as a matter of ego and so the government should come down from its ego and consider the good option of allowing the package employees to work from home till the situation normalizes in Kashmir. This is the best way to address the genuine concerns of the package employees. Thus without wasting time energy the UT government should consider and accept the option of working from home till the situation normalizes in Kashmir. The centre and the UT government should allow the package employees to work from home so that the genuine security concerns are addressed and the employees are not exposed to risk of target killings. Therefore the best and only practical option in the context of the targeted killings of the package employees and Jammu employees who are posted across Kashmir is that they be allowed to work from home till the situation normalises in Kashmir. UT Government should allow the package and other Jammu based employees who are working in Kashmir to work from home. In secretariat off line work is shifted to on line work and the same is happening at the divisional level. The concept of electronic work is under practice at the secretariat level and divisional level also and therefore there is enough scope for the novel practice of WFH. Therefore the insensitive government should consider and accept the only and best option of work from home for the package and other Jammu based employees working in Kashmir. So it is necessary to operationalize the scheme of work from home for the package employees till the time the situation normalizes in Kashmir. In the meantime time government and its different security agencies should work in coordination and tandem to tackle the targeted killings of the package employees and other minority community members including Jammu based employees who are working across the valley. The operation all out and other new techniques’ should be employed to crush militancy and defeat those militants who resort to the targeted killings to scare minorities so that they decide to leave Kashmir and take refuge in Jammu and other places outside the UT. The sinister aim of the militants is to create fear and panic so that the minorities are forced to migrate to safer places in Jammu and outside the union territory. In such a scenario when there is fear psychosis among the pandit package employees and Jammu employees working in Kashmir, the government should embark on the best option of allowing work from home to tide over the crisis.. When the soft targets are being attacked and killed in broad day light by the crusaders of so called Jihad the government should consider and accept the option of work from home for the package employees so that their real concerns are addressed by the powers. In plain terms it means that the package employees should be asked to perform work from home so that on one hand the work will not hamper and on the other hand the lives of the package employees are not risked to targeted killings. So when the government and the private sector as well allowed work from home during the period of covid-19, then what is the inhibition in allowing the WFH to the package employees and therefore the WFH is the only and the best option available in the prevailing circumstances and so the government should embark on the path of giving freedom to the package employees so that they work from home till the time normalcy returns in Kashmir. The government should not remain hands tight but take on the monster of terrorism so that those resorting to targeted killings are brought to book so that such heinous crimes will not take place in future. The work from home popularly called WFH should be enforced and allowed so that the package employees are allowed to perform work from home so that they are not exposed to the bullets of the gun tottering marauders. The work from home is a novel practice and it was followed during the pandemic of coronavirus and now this practice should be considered and accepted and the package employees should be allowed to perform work from home so that on one side the work will suffer and on the other hand and more important one the lives of the package employees are not made sacrificial goats by the powers. Therefore the package employees should be allowed to work from home so that their security concerns are addressed and the work will also not suffer. So the only and the best option is the to allow the package employees and other Jammu employees who are posted across Kashmir to work from home temporarily till the time the situation in Kashmir will become normal. The government should work sincerely to bring normalcy in the valley and for this efforts should be made to crush targeted killings by the militants so that an environment of peace and tranquility will become possible so that at an appropriate time the package employees and other minority employees are asked to perform work in Kashmir but till normalcy is restored, the package employees and other Hindu employees from Jammu working in Kashmir should be allowed to work from home so that their precious lives are saved and the work also will also not suffer. Therefore the powers should focus on the work from home procedure and allow the package employees to work from home so that they are not exposed to the bullets of the militants and the work will also not suffer. The work from home is the best alternative in the precarious conditions when the targeted killings are executed by the enemies of the humanity and to save the package employees from the militants threats and attacks they should be allowed to work from home till the normalcy is restored.. Thus to give a befitting response to the militants the operation all out and other operations should be used and at the same time the package employees should be allowed to work from home. So WFH is the best and only alternative in these trying circumstances and so it should be embraced and the package employees should be allowed work from home till the time situation normalises in Kashmir. We can conclude the write up by saying Jan Hey toh Jahan Hai or in other words Jan Bi Te Jahan Bi and it will materialize by allowing the package employees to work from home.

(The author is a columnist and social activist).

editorial article