Blind Persons Association in Himachal stages protest over backlog recruitment

Shimla, Dec 3 (PTI) Protesting over the non-fulfilment of their long-standing demand of backlog recruitment, the Blind Persons Association of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities as a "black day".

They also threatened to set them ablaze outside the official residence of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu if the government fails to accept their demands by December 10.

Several visually impaired people, who have been sitting on the protest near the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat here, staged a protest and tried to block the Sanjauli-Old Bus Stand road.

During the protest, they also had a minor scuffle with the police personnel deployed at the spot to control the situation, as they tried to remove the protesters from the site. They also had a heated argument with Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shimal (Urban), Oshin Sharma, who tried to calm the protesters.

Rajesh Thakur, one of the protesters, while talking to media persons, said, "Thousands of posts are still vacant, but the government is not recruiting us. We want to ask the chief minister, are those posts reserved for his relatives? Why isn't he meeting with us?.

"The state government is celebrating its three-year tenure, but in the last three years, the government has not even spared a few minutes for us for a meeting. The reality is that the chief minister hates people with disabilities and that is the reason we have been struggling for the past two and a half years to get our demands fulfilled," Thakur reiterated.

"Instead of fulfilling our demand for backlog recruitment, the chief minister disbanded the SAHARA scheme as well as the UDID bus pass service," Thakur said.

He also announced a protest along with a 'gherao' of the chief minister's residence on December 10, and threatened to commit suicide by setting himself on fire if demands are not met. PTI COR APL APL