Early Times Report
RAJOURI, Oct 13: An Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) at the Irrigation Department, Sub Division Siot, in Rajouri has allegedly manhandled a casual labourer and shifted him along with another labourer posted to Sunderbani in violation of the rules.
Sources told Early Times that the around eight casual labours were engaged with the Irrigation Division Siot and the two casual labourers, namely Radhe Sham Sharma and Kewal Krishan Sharma, who were appointed at village Nahoti, were working for the last many years.
But the concerned AEE Kuldeep Raj shifted them arbitrarily just to punish them for raising the issue of pending payment of wages of labourers engaged for cleaning a canal. "Rules say that any person engaged as a casual labourer for a particular place can't be shifted by any senior officer, but the AEE brushing aside the rules shifted them 30 kms from Nahoti," said sources. While talking to Early Times, one of the causal labourer's in question, Radhe Sham, said that he was continuously raising the matter of pending wages (Rs 12000). But the AEE didn't bother about the matter.
He said that few days ago the AEE called him at his office at Siot and slapped and kicked him without any reason and shifted him along with Kewal Sharma to Sundebani with the sole intention of punishing them.
"The distance between Nahoti and Sunderbani is about 30 kms and the bus fare is Rs 50 for one side journey, which means we have to spend Rs 100 a day on transport and Rs 1000 a month. How can we manage?" Radhe said.
The aggrieved casual labourers appealed to the Governor to take stringent action against the erring AEE who has been misusing his position to trouble them just to satisfy his ego. The AEE, Kuldeep Singh, however said he has powers to shift any casual labourer to any place within his jurisdiction, and "if any journalist wants any
information about this issue, they should visit his office as he can't brief anything on the phone." |
