Employees of sewa kendras up the ante

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 1

Already unhappy with the state government for shutting down most of the sewa kendras in the state, staff members of these kendras staged a protest in front of the office of Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal here today. They demanded their salaries for the past four months.

Raising slogans against the state government for shutting down 1,647 sewa kendras in the state, the protesters argued that on the one hand the closure of these centres would render the staff unemployed, while on the other it would also cause inconvenience to the public as they would have to travel more to get their works done.

“Of the total 2,147 sewa kendras opened by the SAD-BJP government in the state, only 500 will function while the remaining will be shut down. The Congress had promised to generate more job opportunities for the youth but it is taking away their sources of livelihood by shutting down these centres,” said the protesting employees.

They further added that the staff, which was already in a state of fear of losing their jobs, was also reeling under severe financial crunch as the private company running these centres was yet to give their salaries for the past four months.

They demanded that the district administration must fix a meeting of staff members with the Finance Minister for a discussion over their demands.