General, OBC employees strike begins in U'khand

Thousands of general and OBC employees in Uttarakhand began their indefinite strike on Monday over the issue of reservation in promotions affecting work at the secretariat and government offices across the state.

Work at the state secretariat in Dehradun and government offices throughout the state was hit by the strike, even as the state government is gearing up for the Budget Session of the Uttarakhand Assembly at Gairsain from Tuesday invoked "no work no pay" in an attempt to dissuade the employees from going on a confrontationist course.

The General and OBC Employees Association, which has called the strike, said it will gherao the state assembly building at Gairsain on Tuesday to press for its demand for implementation of the recent Supreme Court ruling that says reservation in promotions is not a fundamental right.

It is also demanding beginning departmental promotion meetings in the light of the apex court ruling.

General and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) Employees Association state president Deepak Joshi said the strike will go on until the apex court ruling was implemented.

"Our stir will continue indefinitely until we succeed in ensuring implementation of the Supreme Court order on reservation in promotions," he said.

Charging the state government with contempt of the highest court of the land by not enacting its ruling, Joshi said its implementation is the sole objective of the agitation.