India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Punjab may witness a disruption in government operations on Thursday as over 3 lakh government employees and more than 4 lakh pensioners stage a statewide strike demanding payment of pending DA (Dearness Allowance) dues.
The employees of various departments are expected to go on a strike, impacting normal functioning of government services in several areas of the state.
Punjab faces a government services disruption on Thursday as over 3 lakh employees and 4 lakh pensioners strike demanding pending 18% Dearness Allowance (DA) dues, following a High Court order for release that the state government has challenged.
Punjab BJP backs the call for strike as employees and pensioners have no option but to protest against the prolonged delay in payment of their dues, said the Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon.
He said administrative authorities could not keep delaying the payment of the allowance anymore as the Punjab and Haryana High Court has already rejected the plea of the government and ordered for release of the dues.
The state government, however, has challenged the order in a double bench but the earlier order was upheld.
The employees and pensioners have been demanding release of the delayed 18 per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) along with restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and regularisation of contract employees.
The employee and pensioner bodies have been raising the issue of DA and arrears on a frequent basis and some employee organisations have been pressurising the government to release the amount as per the High Court order.
The disruption is expected to affect wide range of services right from the Punjab Secretariat to district level authorities in view of the large scale participation being witnessed. Employees working in various departments including Deputy Commissioner and SDM offices, Tehsil and revenue establishments, transport departments, government schools and colleges, health centres and hospitals are expected to stage the protest.
The government hospital OPDs and roadways bus services are expected to be some of the services to be impacted with emergency services remaining functional. The employees belonging to these departments are likely to remain shut for a day following the bandh which is also observed ahead of a holiday break.
With August 28 being a government holiday on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan followed by the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, the functioning of government departments is likely to remain impacted for few more days depending on how fast they reopen on resumption of normal operations after the strike.
The confrontation is also taking place in less than a year of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
