Without PPE, PHE daily wagers, casual labourers are out to provide uninterrupted water supply to people

Srinagar: As the situation continues to remain precarious, the daily wagers from Public Health Engineering (PHE) department continue to serve people in different parts of Kashmir and are out without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), several PHE daily wagers were seen repairing the defunct pipelines at different places in past few days.

Witnesses said that the daily wagers, casual labourers and others of the department risk their lives by coming out of their homes without any PPE to repair the defunct lines or other things.

Sajjad Ahmad Parray, president of daily wagers association told—KNO that they are working tirelessly even during the lockdown to ensure that the people don’t face hardships amid the lockdown called in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Parray said that they have not been provided any kind of PPE, but at some places, the department provided only masks to the daily wagers, which is not enough to keep them safe.

He added that even a Class IV daily wager, Abdul Rashid Bhat, whose six-year-old daughter is kept under quarantine, has come out of his home to repair the defunct line in Naid Khai.

Notably, the daily wagers, casual labourers have in the past also showed such dedication by coming out of their homes even during the unrest to ensure the basic facilities are provided to the people.

About the release of monthly wages, Parray stated the government has released the wages for these months while as the previous pending wages for 18 months have not been cleared yet.

Meanwhile, a top official from PHE department said that the dedication shown by the daily wagers and casual labourers so far is quite appreciable and the government keeping in view of their dedication should fulfill all their demands including regularization so that they could heave a sigh of relief –(KNO)