TURA, Mar 10: Taking their ongoing protest over pending salaries a notch higher, the employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) who have been staging a sit-in demonstration in front of the Council’s entrance since March 3, on Wednesday began their hunger strike.
“We have been boycotting our duties in protest against the failure of the authorities to release our pending salaries since February 18. However, we have been completely ignored and the state government has remained silent. So we have decided to continue our hunger strike until our demand is achieved,” President of the NGEA, Senora Johny Arengh said.
The first round of the protest in the form of the hunger strike will take place from 10 am to 5 pm till Friday. However, if there is still no response from the government, the association has threatened to resort to an indefinite fast from Monday next week until the demand is fulfilled or some kind of assurance is given by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
“We will not allow the elderly or those with health problems to participate in the hunger strike. However, we welcome organizations, local groups and citizens who are willing to take part in the protest,” NGEA Secretary, Brithen M Sangma said.