Protesting govt employees detained in Srinagar

Police used water cannons and resorted to baton charges as the employees, who assembled outside the old Secretariat to carry out a march towards the nearby Civil Secretariat, refused to relent despite prohibitory orders, official sources said.

Over 100 employees were taken into preventive custody, the sources said.

The employees are demanding extension of the retirement age to 60 from the existing 58 years, apart from regularisation of daily-wagers engaged after 1994 and removal of pay anomalies in the clerical cadre, besides budgetary support for public sector undertakings.

Last week, the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) spearheading the agitation had announced a four-day protest beginning today to press for its demands.

The workers are likely to stage a similar protest tomorrow, apart from a protest at the Civil Secretariat - the seat of the state government - on June 15, a spokesman of the employees said.

The employees will gherao the Governor House on June 16 and observe a complete "pen down" strike the same day, he said, adding that the employees seek implementation of the agreement signed between the government and the employees' representatives last year.

Ruling out negotiations with the government, the spokesman said, discussions can take place "only after" implementation of the agreement was signed between the government and the employees.