Awantipora municipal workers protest over four months of unpaid salaries
Demand intervention of higher ups
Pulwama:The employees of the Municipal Council Awantipora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday staged a strong protest against the authorities, alleging that they have not received their salaries for the last four months, pushing many families into severe financial distress.
Raising slogans and holding placards outside the municipal office in Awantipora, the aggrieved workers said repeated assurances by officials have failed to translate into action.
“We are daily wage earners and lower-grade employees. How are we supposed to survive when our salaries are withheld for months together?” said Bashir Ahmad, a sanitation worker who has been with the municipality for over a decade. “We have school-going children, medical expenses, and rent to pay. The government talks about workers’ welfare, but our reality is painful.”
Another employee, Farooq Ahmed, said many workers are now borrowing money to meet basic needs. “Shopkeepers are refusing us further credit. Some of us have taken loans just to buy ration. This is mental torture,” he said. “If salaries are not released immediately, we will be forced to intensify our protest.”
The workers accused the administration of ignoring their plight despite multiple representations and appeals. They demanded immediate release of pending wages along with a clear mechanism to ensure timely payments in the future.
“Our work keeps the town clean and functioning, yet we are treated as if we don’t matter,” said a protesting woman employee. “We report to duty every day without fail, but when it comes to our rights, there is only silence.”
Notably, employees of the Municipal Committee Tral held a similar protest a day before echoing the same demand for release of long-pending salaries.
They have sought the attention of higher ups at an earliest in this regard.
