Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 6 : A group of visually impaired protesters under the banner of the Himachal Pradesh Blind and Visually Impaired Association, on Monday, stopped by police while marching towards the Chief Minister's residence in Shimla, intensifying their long-pending agitation over job reservations and pension issues.
The protesters, who claim to have been agitating for over 900 days, attempted to hold a rally towards the Chief Minister's residence but were halted midway by a heavy police barricade.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Thakur, a leader of the association, alleged that despite repeated protests and demonstrations, including multiple gheraos of the state secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha, the government has failed to address their demands.
"We have been protesting for over 900 days, but the government has only disappointed us. Even after surrounding the Secretariat and Vidhan Sabha several times, there has been no solution to our problems," said Rajesh Thakur.
He said the primary demand of the protesters is the implementation of backlog quotas for persons with disabilities across all government departments to ensure employment opportunities.
"Our main demand is a backlog quota in government jobs so that we can earn a livelihood. The current pension of Rs 1,700 per month is insufficient to sustain our families," he added.
Thakur also accused the present government, led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, of discontinuing earlier welfare schemes introduced during the tenure of Jai Ram Thakur, leading to resentment among the differently-abled community.
"Earlier, there was better support through pension schemes, but these have now been altered, causing hardship and anger among the visually impaired," he said.
The protesters warned that they would continue their sit-in at the site if not allowed to proceed and threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands were not met.
"If the police do not allow us to move ahead, we will sit here day and night. We are determined to continue this struggle until our demands are fulfilled," Thakur asserted.
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