West Garo Hills (Meghalaya) [India], September 5 (ANI): A mega protest rally in support of the demands of the employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) for the release of their dues was organized in the Tura region of the West Garo Hills district of the state of Meghalaya on Thursday.
Several social organizations, student bodies, and civil society groups together took part in the protest rally to register a strong protest over the delay in payment of salaries.
A conglomerate of organizations, including the Garo Students Union and several social outfits, marched alongside hundreds of salary-deprived staff of the district council as they made their way through the main thoroughfares of Tura town on Thursday.
Speaking to the media, an employee, Arphina M Sangma, said, “There is lot of problems in GHADC employees’ family…there is no food to eat, no clothes to wear…main problem is the children of GHADC employees’ family…the children, they can not go to school because of the non-payment of 44 months’ salaries and the patients, the sick persons…there is so many people of GHADC employees’ family, there is a sick person is there, like cancer patients, diabetes patients and many other diseases…they can not take a proper treatment, so some of the employees already expired…today we met at a mass rally in Tura, all the GHADC employees, NGO’s, senior citizen forums, demanding to clear the pending of 44 months’ salaries”.
Shops across Tura town were shut down for four hours when the rally took place.
The Employees of GHADC have reached a mark of 44 months in unpaid dues. Days earlier, the Executive Committee of the GHADC, headed by Chief Executive Member (CEM) Albinush Marak, reportedly assured the striking employees of 5 months ‘ salary, followed by regular monthly salaries from the first week of November, to get them to return to work.
However, the agitating employees aren’t cooperating. Peeved with their own EC for dragging its feet on the issue, they now want nothing short of the clearance of the entire 44 months of pending salaries.
According to the reports, the NPP-led Meghalaya government under Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had made overtures to the affected employees and announced its keenness to step forward and help clear their salaries every month, beginning the first week of November, with one requisition- GHADC must take up financial reforms to ensure it doesn’t face another similar crisis.
The protesters alleged that the overture from the Chief Minister hasn’t been well appreciated by social groups and other political parties, who accuse the state government of infringing on the autonomy of the district council. This has now led to a stalemate.
The rally started from William Point, which is meters away from the head office of the GHADC, and proceeded through Members’ Hostel, DC Office road, Tura Bazar, Hawakhana, and back to William Point. (ANI)
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