Police cane-charge protesting contractual workers in Patna, several injured

Patna, Sep 10 (IANS) Tensions flared here on Wednesday after the police resorted to cane-charge on contractual workers protesting near the BJP office.

The workers, whose services were recently terminated, have been staging a dharna at the Gardanibagh Dharna Sthal for nearly a month.

The agitation follows the Bihar government’s decision to terminate around 9,000 contract workers in the Revenue and Land Department.

The demands of the contractual workers, according to the agitators, were ignored by the department.

On Wednesday, thousands of workers marched from Gardanibagh and gathered near the BJP office.

The situation escalated after a scuffle broke out between police and protesters, leading to a lathi-charge.

Several workers sustained injuries, with some receiving head wounds. They were immediately taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The incident triggered widespread outrage among the workers, who accused the government of suppressing their movement instead of addressing their concerns.

“We have been peacefully demanding our rights for weeks, but today the police beat us mercilessly,” said one protester Sunil Kumar.

The union leaders have condemned the police action and warned that the agitation will intensify unless the government revokes the termination order and restores the jobs of the affected employees.

The workers have been on strike since August 16, demanding job security and better service conditions.

Officials have indicated that the government now plans to recruit afresh for the vacant posts, further fuelling resentment among the sacked employees.

The agitating workers, who have been sitting on a dharna and hunger strike for nearly a month at Gardanibagh Dharna Sthal, accused the government of neglect.

“This is being called a government of good governance, but it feels like British rule. We were on a dharna and hunger strike for a month, yet no one from the government came to talk to us. We kept waiting in vain,” one protester said.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Revenue and Land Reform Department claimed the contractual workers were repeatedly asked to return to their respective jobs, but they refused and stayed on the dharna.

--IANS

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