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| | Govt seizes SRTC property: Employees observe strike as court suspends DC’s order | | | SRINAGAR, Aug 3: The employees of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) today staged a complete shutdown against impounding of their property by the district administration even as the high court put in abeyance the order of deputy commissioner.
All intra-state, inter-state and inter-district bus service of the state owned corporation remained suspended affecting the movement of public as well as tourists.
Scores of employees held protest demonstrations gathered at Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) here and Bikram Chowk Jammu against, what they called, state’s illegal move.
The SRTC employees in Jammu staged noisy protests against the decision and also suspended the traffic in the state as well other states.
The employees gathered at SRTC Complex Bikram Chowk and held demonstration against "forcible" shifting of its headquarters from here to Srinagar.
Commuters were inconvenienced as buses, mini-buses and trucks of the corporation remained off roads, disrupting services on several inter-state routes.
The protestors threatened to continue strike till the decision of "forcible" shifting of its headquarters from here to Srinagar is not reverted.
The strike was called around midnight last night after the district administration seized the property of SRTC located near the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), Srinagar. On directions of the deputy commissioner here, a large contingent of police and paramilitary CRPF last evening entered the building SRTC property and forced out the employees present there.
The transport yard was sealed off with concertina wires. Early this morning, the district administration bulldozed the workshops, rest rooms and other infrastructure existing on the site.
The move came in wake of the government’s plan to construct a Tehzeeb Mahal (Cultural Museum) at the site and provide the SRTC alternate land at Nowgam.
“The government is supposed to provide us alternate land and infrastructure at Nowgam before taking possession of the property. But without the alternative, the property was seized forcibly by the district administration. It is illegal and we are staging indefinite strike against it,” the president SRTC employees union, Shakeel Kuchey, said.
Located between J&K Bank and hotels of Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), Kuchey said the actual reason behind relocation “is that it (property) is an eyesore for JK Bank and the TDC.”
The seizure has come at a time the case is being heard by the court.
The SRTC employees have challenged in the court the very decision of the state to transfer the SRTC property, on the ground that any such decision can only be taken by the board of directors of the corporation. While the case is undecided, Shakeel said, another appeal was filed in the court against the pressure build upon SRTC by the DC.
“Some five days ago he issued an order asking us to vacate the property. We moved court against the order as the matter is already sub-judice. The case was listed for hearing yesterday, but the same was delayed due to the holiday. And in the evening the DC got the property seized,” Shakeel explained.
However, the case, according to Shakeel, was heard by the court this afternoon, and it has put in abeyance the DC’s order.
“The court put it in abeyance for two weeks till next hearing…I contacted the local police station and informed them about the court order. Tomorrow we will go to the police station along with the order and take possession of the property,” he said. |
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