MC staff to gherao Navjot Sidhu’s residence today
AMRITSAR: Amid the deadlock between the state government and the municipal corporation (MC) employees over non-payment of salaries, the MC employees will gherao Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s home here on Monday.
The employees under the banner of ‘Sanjhi Sangharsh Committee’ have been protesting from last 20 days.
The employees had given an ultimatum of 48 hours, to the administration, to clear their pending wages. They had warned of a ‘gherao’ of minister’s houses, if not paid salaries within two days. “As the ultimatum period is about to end, we will intensify the stir as per our prior announcement of gathering outside Sidhu’s residence at around 11 am. We will stage a dharna for our demands on Monday,” said Vinod Bitta, committee convener. So far, the agitated employees continued with their stir by shunning the work and holding demonstrations outside the civic body’s office at Ranjit Avenue locality.
They had also burnt effigies of Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh and Sidhu to press their demands.The staff had also met MC commissioner Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu who also failed to resolve the issue and kept on assuring them to solve the problem. The civic body routine work continues to get hit causing inconvenience to public. The civic body is facing unprecedented fiscal crisis for the past few years.
A section of employees have not even received salaries for April. Demanding for the release of salaries, the employees have been on strike since August 8.