Poll staff stranded, govt employees protest

Deputy Commissioner says staff to be airlifted Tuesday, Wednesday.

Work in all state government offices in Kishtwar district came to a halt as the employees held protests against the administration’s failure to airlift poll staff stranded in snow-bound Marwah, Dacchan and Inshan areas.

Trouble had erupted on Sunday when the police and paramilitary personnel were given preference over polling staff in helicopter sorties to Kishtwar town arranged by district administration. A number of employees from the civil administration, who had been sent on poll duty from Kishtwar a week before the polling day, were still stranded without basic amenities in areas with four to five feet snow, the employees alleged.

All the government educational institutions were closed and work in the revenue department too remained paralyzed as teachers and patwaris joined the strike.

Demanding an FIR and transfer of district SP Sanjay Kotwal, the employees threatened to go on indefinite strike if their stranded colleagues were not brought back to Kishtwar by 10 am Tuesday.

The Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Javed Khan, invited the agitating employees for talks but the latter did not respond. Pointing out that 50-60 employees were stranded at Warwan and Marwah along with security forces, Khan said that the helicopter could not be sent due to a technical snag. The staff will be airlifted on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said, adding that he had already made a formal request to the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Shantmanu, for the purpose.

The matter has led to a tiff between Assistant Returning Officer of 51-Kishtwar Mohammad Haneef Malik and the district SP with the former asking the local SHO to register an FIR. In a formal complaint to the Election Commission, he has accused Kotwal of using abusive language and creating hindrances in the poll process.

Kishtwar is a part of the Udhampur parliamentary constituency where Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad and BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh are tied in a multi-cornered contest. Nearly 70 per cent of the 14.61 lakh electorate in the constituency had cast vote on April 17.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram