Home guard demand regularisation

Nahan, Jun 24 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Home Guards today called upon Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to fulfill his promise of recruiting all those Home Guards who had completed 12 years of service.

About 8,000 Home Guards in the state were facing a bleak future as no step had been taken so far on the Chief Minister's promise to regularise those who had completed 12 years of service, president of the association Subhash Chand said while talking to reporters here.

He said some of them had even completed 15 years of services and were playing an important role in maintaining law and order and other responsibilities for a paltry sum of Rs 130 per day.

Alleging that they were being given a step-motherly treatment by the government, he said they have fixed daily wages and were not given regular increments.

Mr Chand said about 8,000 Home Guards were posted at various places of the state in 12 districts for Rs 3,900 per month that was not sufficient to meet their family needs.

Several hundred guards have retired without any pensionary facilities and were now doing labour work to sustain their families, he said, adding that those who have completed eight years of services should be recruited and regularised in the police department.

UNI