EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 4: Dharmarth Trust employees, who are on protest for the last 35 days and observing chain hunger strike for the last eight days under the banner of Dharmarth Trust Employees Association (DTEA), on Monday vowed to intensify their ongoing agitation if government fails listen to their demand to merge all temples falling under the Dharmarth Trust into the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. To extend their support, Rajiv Mahajan, President Shri Raghunath Mandir Sewa Samiti and Th. Karnail Chand General Secretary also joined in agitation of employees and sat on chain hunger strike today with Balwant Singh, Bablu, Ashok, Kartar, Satpal Raina, Sonika Manhas, Savita JAmwal, Gourav Gupta, Ritu Devi and Chaman Lal.
Speaking on the occasion, the association members criticized the management of J&K Dharmarth Trust saying that they are bent upon destroying the Dogra culture.
They demanded merger of all Dharmarth Trust temples with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for their proper development.
They informed that after taking all the stakeholders and civil society members into confidence a new forum titled ‘Mandir Raksha Manch’ has been formed with an aim to intensify the ongoing agitation for merging all the temples of Dharmarth Trust into the Shrine Board.
Speaking on the occasion Rajiv Mahajan urged Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to resolve the issues at the earliest as the demand of the employees endorsed by civil society is genuine and praiseworthy as there is a large number of temples under the Dharmarth Trust are damaged or in dilapidated condition. The protesting employees appealed to the social, political, religious and civil organizations to come forward for the cause of preserving Dogra heritage and religious places in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
President Vivek Bandral also expressed thanks to all organization and civil society members for participating in yesterday's convention and extended support to the cause of Dharmarth trust employees.
Among others present in the strike were Sunit Sharma, Subash, Pt Parshotam, Pt Brijmohan Sharma, Pt Om Parkash, Pt Rampal, Pt Balwant Shastri, Vimal Khajuria, Sat Paul, Pawan, Deepu, Rinku, Makhnu, Jivan, Bushan, Sonali, Renu, Anju, Sheetal, Nisha and Sonika. |
