Anantnag: Members of All Jammu and Kashmir Non-Gazetted Forest Officers’ Association staged a protest demonstration on Thursday and raised several demands including removal of pay anomaly and grant of risk allowances after a casual labourer was killed in an armed attack during a patrol duty in South Kashmir’s Pulwama.
Scores of protesting employees assembled in Anantnag and raised voice in favour of demands.
They said even as they were doing their duty amid risky situations, "we are not being given the benefit of risk allowance."
The association said that the employees of other department, forest protection wing get all the benefits but those who work on fields are being kept deprived of such benefits.
They said that so far 110 employees of the forest department have laid their lives while performing their duties and despite no allowance.
They said those who are receiving such allowances have never received even injury on the ground.
They said that a young boy Imran Yousuf from Budgam has laid his life while protecting the forest and the government must provide all possible help to the family of the victim.
They demanded that the government must provide his kin a job under SRO 43 and other possible benefits to his family.
The protesters appealed to the LG administration to intervene in the matter and do needful on humanitarian ground.
(KNO)
