GTA employees' body goes on dharna

SNS, DARJEELING. 17 AUGUST 2020: The United Employees' Associarion (UEA) consisting of pay band employees of the Gorkhaland Territodal Administration (GTA) today launched a dharna, demanding regularization and appointment of relatives in died-in-harness cases.

The UEA, affiliated to the Binoy Tamang faction of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, staged today's sit-in at Lalkothi, the GTA headquarters, and the GTA office at Lewis Jubilee Complex. "Our dharna programmes will go on until our demands are met.  We will see the response we get and later on we can start such programmes in other GTA offices also. If  needed, we can also close down these offices. Time will tell what programmes we will follow," U EA president Anil Rai said.

According to Mr Rai, there are presently around 4,851 pay band workers in the GTA.

Speaking about their demands, UEA working president Dilip Singh said, "We were appointed during the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.There were govemment notifications that regularization would be done, but nothing happened. Later on, the GTA was formed and nothing happened after that too."

"In 2009, we went on a hunger strike, following which on 17th September that year, there was a government order that we should be regularized. Even though the process started, nothing happened in the end. Now a new Board of Administrators is in charge of the GTA and even though we have submitted memorandum, our demands have not been met" he said, adding that they have now no option but to start such programmes.

(Courtesy and source- The Statesman- https://epaper.thestatesman.com/2789311/Siliguri-The-Statesman/18TH-AUGUST-2020#page/2/2)