Shimla: Growing resentment among police constables In Himachal Pradesh over denial of equitable pay scales, despite their written representation, has become visible more than before with their complete boycott of food at official mess seven districts, including Shimla.
This is second time within a period of three months the young constables including women have resorted to boycott of the mess, something quite unusual in the disciplined force especially the hill state.
Police constables are fighting against the indifferent attitude of the government towards their demands as despite assurances from the chief minister to look into their grievances, nothing concrete have been done so far.
About 5,700 constables recruited in 2015 and afterwards are demanding the grant of 10,300 + 3,200 pay scale after two years instead of eight years.
"We don't have any hope felt from the state government and DGP sahib to meet our demands. We can't go on direct protests unlike other categories of the government employees. This is the only way left to us to lodge our protests. The police constables perform tough duties in snowfall, extreme cold at High altitude places like Rohtang Tunnel yet no one cares about us," said a young constables recruited four years back.
What has shocked me is that DGP Sanjay Kundu had constituted a committee to look into their issues of wages and other service conditions about one and half month back but nothing has come out of it also.
Hoping that the government will come out with solutions, the constables had stopped showing resentment publicly and had started taking food from the mess. Now that their hopes have been belied they are again have stopped taking food in the mess.
The constables who were recruited before 2015 are having different pay scales as compared to those coming into the force after 2015.
The state government had taken a decision to regularise the services of the contractual employees within two years, bringing it down from earlier three years' service but for the constables recruitment after 2015 it is eight years.
Ironically, most police officers, including a retired Director General of Police I D Bhandari have supported the cause of the protesting constables but what was stopping the government from taking a call is still not known.
"The duties of policemen are different from other employees and they work 24x7, many times under adverse working conditions. The demand for reducing the period from eight years to two years for the constables recruited after January 2015 is justified," said a senior police officer.
Earlier to this the families of the police constables had also tried to block a motorcade of BJP National President J P Nadda at his home town Bilaspur during his recent visit December 2021 to draw his attention towards the constables' issues.