TG Employees, Pensioners, Teachers Stage Protests
Employees, teachers and pensioners protested across Telangana seeking PRC scales, pending DA instalments, OPS restoration and other long-pending demands.
Government employees, teachers and pensioners joint action committee (TGEJAC) staged protests at all district headquarters across the state on Thursday, demanding immediate resolution of their long-pending issues, including implementation of the Second Pay Revision Commission (PRC) pay scales, payment of six pending Dearness Allowance (DA) instalments, abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
In Hyderabad, TGEJAC leaders and members held a mahadharna at Indira Park, with a large number of employees, teachers and pensioners participating. The protests were organised following the JAC’s statewide call and were also held at the collectorates of all 33 districts.
Addressing the gathering, TGEJAC chairman Maram Jagadeeshwar, secretary general Eluri Srinivas Rao and TNGO general secretary S.M. Hussaini (Mujeeb) said employees had demonstrated patience for a long time out of respect for Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, but the government’s continued delay in resolving their issues had caused serious resentment among employees. They said repeated representations to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka led Cabinet sub-committee, the committee headed by IAS officer Naveen Mittal and several ministers had failed to yield results.
Jagadeeshwar demanded that the government announce and implement the PRC, release the pending DA arrears and ensure effective implementation of the new health insurance scheme, besides resolving all other pending demands. He alleged that the government, despite describing itself as a “people’s government”, was delaying the resolution of employees’ issues and causing growing unrest among them.
Warning the government, Jagadeeshwar said no government that antagonised its employees had managed to sustain itself and cautioned that continued inaction could lead to strong opposition to the state government. Srinivas Rao said repeated appeals for implementation of the PRC and payment of DA arrears had failed to move the government. He described Thursday’s statewide protests as a “strong warning” and said the JAC would intensify its agitation if the government failed to concede its demands.
