Karnal sanitation staff stage protest to oppose online attendance

Karnal, March 6

Scores of gramin safai karamcharis, chowkidars and tubewell operators, along with employees of various departments, took out a protest march in the city and burnt an effigy of Panchayat Minister Devender Singh Babli. The protest was held against the decision to implement online attendance on a mobile application.

Joginder, the district president of the Gramin Safai Karamchari Union, and Madan, president of Gramin Chowkidar Sabha, organised the protest, which was also supported by the Sarv Karmachari Sangh and CITU.

Joginder said the government should withdraw its decision asking employees to mark attendance twice a day through the mobile application. A protest in this regard had been held on Monday as well. The employees have also been staging a dharna for the past two days outside the Mini Secretariat against the decision.

“We will continue our dharna on Thursday. The government should withdraw the decision; otherwise, we will have no other option but to extend the strike,” said Joginder, adding that sarpanches and village secretaries had been asked to verify their attendance, based on which their pay bills would be generated. “We oppose this move and demand that the government withdraw it with immediate effect,” said Madan. Sushil Gurjar, district president of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, said all employee associations were supporting the protest.