Thousands dailywager in J

Srinagar, May 4 (UNI) Alleging that recent announcement by the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide jobs to 70,000 youths in the state was a ''hoax'', state secretary of the Communist Party of India (M) Mohammad Yousuf Targami said thousands of daily-wage and ad-hoc employees are without salaries for years.

It was unfortunate that the state government was making hoax announcement to provide jobs to 70,000 youths in the state, he said, adding it was just an election promise which will never be fulfilled.

Mr Targami said those announcements were being made with an eye on the Assembly election later this year.

He said thousands of daily-wage, ad-hoc and other workers have been facing starvation because they were not being paid their salaries for years.

Mr Targami, who is also Legislature party leader of the CPI(M) in the Assembly, said he was informed by the gardeners working in Gardening and Parks department that they were not paid their salaries for the past 18 months.

Similarly, drivers working in different hospitals were also not paid their wages, he said.

He expressed surprise that on the one hand government was making announcement about 70,000 vacancies while on the other, thousands of those who have helped rebuilding infrastructure were being denied wages for years.

UNI BAS YSS GL AS1444