Srinagar, Feb 14: A day after the J&K Government directed its employees to attend their duty, a number of civil servants had to face the wrath of cops on Thursday. While many employees alleged that the cops in curfew-bound areas “abused them” for venturing out, the instances of police and paramilitary forces not honoring identity cards as curfew passes also poured in from many places throughout the day.
“It is highly condemnable and unfortunate that the state government is risking the lives of employees by asking them to attend duties amid stringent curfew. This is being done just to paint a deceptive picture of the ongoing situation in Kashmir,” said a group of employees hailing from old Srinagar areas, where there was no relaxation in curfew on Thursday.
“The cops on duty are not honoring the identity cards as curfew passes, as had been assured by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir.”
Greater Kashmir received a number of phone calls today with many employees alleging that the cops “abused” them. “I showed the cops my identity card. They tore it apart and also abused me for coming out of my home,” said Abdur Rashid (name changed), an employee in the Public Health Engineering department from south Kashmir’s Islamabad town. “The entire Islamabad town is reeling under stringent curfew for the past few days. People are running short of essentials while chemists don’t have life-saving drugs. In such a situation, the government cannot make the employees act as scapegoats just to give an impression that all is well in the Valley.”
The curfew in the Valley has been imposed on February 9 in the wake of hanging of Afzal Guru at Tihar Jail in New Delhi. While the state government kept mum for three days on the duties of its employees, it issued a circular—which many see as a “diktat”—directing all employees to attend their duties ‘without fail.
The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Asgar Samoon, assured that the “identity cards of the employees would be treated as curfew/movement passes.”
According to employees, it is completely illogical to ask them to attend duties in absence of public transport, nor there is any transport facility from the government. “Every employee doesn’t have his own car. How can the government expect the employees to attend their duties when there is no transport facility available?” asked Ghulam Qadir, an employee in Education Department.
“Kashmir is burning at the moment. There is no let up in the clampdown. In such a scenario, it is highly unfortunate that the government is coming out with such diktats. The employees unions must take up the issue in the interest of the employees,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 IST