Himachal government pensioners on Friday staged 'dharna' and demonstrations at several district headquarters to press their demands for release of pending instalments of dearness allowance (DA) and arrears of revised pay and pension to the employees who superannuated after January 2016.
The call for holding demonstrations was given by Himachal Pradesh Pensioners' Joint Front of 18 organisations and the response was overwhelming, said Subhash Verma, general secretary Shimla District Pensioners Association and state press secretary of the Joint Front.
Himachal Pradesh Pensioners' Joint Front is purely a non-political body and would soon meet Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for redressal of their grievances, office-bearers of the front said.
Verma said that the pensioners are waiting for release of pending instalments of DA, release of arrears of revised pay and pension of employees, superannuated between 2016 and 2022, besides reimbursement of medical bills and added that the front had given notice to the government to accept the demands, which expired on Thursday.
Verma said that many pensioners in their 60s to 90-plus are suffering with chronic diseases but could not get treatment as they had no means to afford the treatment and a large number of employees have passed away.
He said that the non-payment of DA, arrears and medical bills have made the pensioners' lives miserable. Urging the government not to take the pensioners lightly, he said there are more than 1.75 lakh pensioners, accounting for nearly eight lakh votes, if families are included.
The members of the front held a demonstration at Gandhi Chowk in Hamirpur town. Later, they held a rally and submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner. Reports of protest at the majority of district headquarters have also poured in.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the state Congress government has failed on all fronts and while the whole country is celebrating festivals of Dhanteras and Diwali, pensioners are forced to protest on roads for their genuine demands.
In a statement issued here, he said that government employees who had worked their whole life for the state and its people have not got reimbursement of medical bills for the past three years and accused the state government of ignoring their plight.
The call for holding demonstrations was given by Himachal Pradesh Pensioners' Joint Front of 18 organisations and the response was overwhelming, said Subhash Verma, general secretary Shimla District Pensioners Association and state press secretary of the Joint Front.
Himachal Pradesh Pensioners' Joint Front is purely a non-political body and would soon meet Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for redressal of their grievances, office-bearers of the front said.
Verma said that the pensioners are waiting for release of pending instalments of DA, release of arrears of revised pay and pension of employees, superannuated between 2016 and 2022, besides reimbursement of medical bills and added that the front had given notice to the government to accept the demands, which expired on Thursday.
Verma said that many pensioners in their 60s to 90-plus are suffering with chronic diseases but could not get treatment as they had no means to afford the treatment and a large number of employees have passed away.
He said that the non-payment of DA, arrears and medical bills have made the pensioners' lives miserable. Urging the government not to take the pensioners lightly, he said there are more than 1.75 lakh pensioners, accounting for nearly eight lakh votes, if families are included.
The members of the front held a demonstration at Gandhi Chowk in Hamirpur town. Later, they held a rally and submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner. Reports of protest at the majority of district headquarters have also poured in.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the state Congress government has failed on all fronts and while the whole country is celebrating festivals of Dhanteras and Diwali, pensioners are forced to protest on roads for their genuine demands.
In a statement issued here, he said that government employees who had worked their whole life for the state and its people have not got reimbursement of medical bills for the past three years and accused the state government of ignoring their plight.
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