NHM employees baton charged, tear-gassed during rally in Jammu

The Jammu and Kashmir Police today baton charged and tear gassed hundreds of employees of the National Health Mission (NHM), including women, protesting here in support of their demands, including regularisation of their jobs.
More than 11,000 NHM employees have been on strike since December 20 in support of their various demands.
Today, nearly 300 of them took out a rally in the city, but they were stopped by the police when they tried to march towards the secretariat - the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government.
The police said they had to use force to disperse the rally after the employees refused to vacate the area.

However, NHM employees association spokesperson Faizan A Tramboo accused the police of using force without provocation.
"Dozens of our colleagues were injured in the police action and many of them have suffered fractures. A pregnant woman suffered miscarriage," Tramboo claimed.

He said the employees were peacefully marching towards the secretariat when the police suddenly started using batons and fired teargas shells to disperse them.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee strongly condemned the "brutal lathicharge" on the agitating employees.
"This kind of indifferent attitude of the PDP-BJP government is highly irresponsible and strongly condemnable," it said.