Gonda: Hundreds of sanitation workers under the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Rural Sanitation Workers Union, Gonda, organised a Tricolour rally in the district to demand the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and raise other service-related issues.
The rally was led by union district president Raghavendra Tiwari. Sanitation workers from across the district began gathering at Gandhi Park around 11 am, with the gathering eventually growing into a large assembly. Block presidents, office-bearers and women representatives welcomed the participants by presenting them with Tricolour-themed turbans, scarves and badges.
Following the gathering, District General Secretary Devmani Shukla and State Vice-President Amir Ahmad, along with other office-bearers, took an oath before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi under the leadership of Tiwari. The leaders reiterated their demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and raised several other issues concerning sanitation workers.
The workers subsequently took out a Tricolour rally through the city. Carrying the national flag and travelling with a decorated Tricolour jeep, they raised slogans and sang songs supporting the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. The rally passed through LBS Chauraha and moved towards the District Magistrate’s residence before reaching Ambedkar Chauraha.
At Ambedkar Chauraha, the participants garlanded the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar and reiterated their demands. The union also sought an end to the GPS-based photo attendance system for sanitation workers, among other service-related demands.
Addressing the gathering, District President Raghavendra Tiwari said there should not be “two sets of laws” in the country and demanded that government employees should also receive the Old Pension Scheme. He said pension was an important source of financial security for employees after retirement.
Women’s Wing Divisional President Aarti Tiwari said employees remained incomplete without the Old Pension Scheme and asserted that the organisation would continue its campaign for restoration of OPS.
Block President Atul Tiwari said employees would launch a decisive struggle if their pension-related demands were not addressed. District General Secretary Devmani Shukla warned that if the government failed to restore the Old Pension Scheme, employees would express their views through the electoral process in the future.
A large number of union members and office-bearers participated in the rally. Those present included Organisation Minister Udho Ram Gautam, District Publicity Officer Ram Roop Verma, Block President of Itiyathok Loknath Shukla, Dharmendra Verma, Lakhan Lal Paswan, Pradeep Verma, Dharmendra Pandey, Abhimanyu Kumar, Harish Mishra, Pankaj Kumar, Raghunath Maurya, Ram Sajivan Tiwari, Sunny Ram Kanojia, Jitendra Tiwari, Ravi Goswami, Harendra Singh, Ram Nihor, Ramesh Singh, Women’s Wing General Secretary Shafiqul Nisha, Women’s Wing District General Secretary Ramrati Devi, Nirmal Verma, Poonam Singh, Sangeeta Gupta, Anita Prajapati, Fauzdar Pandey, Zubair Ahmad, Ajay Chauhan and Jabiullah Siddiqui, among others.
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