Protests erupt in IIOJK districts over authorities’ indifference to basic needs
Srinagar: People staged strong protests in Baramulla, Kathua and Udhampur districts of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) against authorities’ indifference towards their basic necessities and rising economic hardships.
According to Kashmir Media Service, temporary sanitation workers of the Municipal Council in Sopore area of Baramulla held a protest outside the Municipal Council office, demanding regularization of their services and resolution of their long-pending issues. The protesters were holding brooms and placards while raising slogans against the authorities.
The workers said they had been engaged for years on contract or daily-wage basis without any job security or legal benefits. “We perform the same duties as permanent employees, but we are deprived of regular salaries, leave, and pension benefits,” they said. “We are unable to make both ends meet and are struggling to afford even two meals a day,” the protesters said.
They warned that if their demands were not addressed, they would intensify their agitation.
Separately, residents staged a strong protest at Shri Parshuram Chowk in Kathua against steep electricity bills, expressing anger over increasing financial burden on households. Protesters raised slogans against the Power Development Department (PDD) and the authorities, saying that they were ignoring the hardships faced by common people.
They said rising electricity charges, along with increasing prices of essential commodities, had made it difficult for ordinary families to manage monthly expenses. The protesters warned that if relief was not provided, they would escalate their agitation in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the District Congress Committee (DCC) Udhampur, led by its president Sumeet Magotra, organized a protest rally at Indira Chowk in the main market against rising inflation, soaring fuel prices and the growing economic burden on the public.
Addressing the gathering, Sumeet Magotra launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government, saying it had come to power with promises of better days but had instead left people burdened with inflation, unemployment and price hikes. He warned that if public grievances continued to be ignored, the Congress would intensify its agitation both on the streets and in democratic forums.
