Lucknow: At least 18 protesting employees of the Smarak Samiti were suspended by the authorities on Thursday after they continued their strike for the 5th consecutive day. The Smarak Samiti, established in 2009 by the BSP government, is a temporary body responsible for maintaining the monuments constructed by the government in Lucknow and Gautam Budh Nagar. The striking employees have made several demands that have not been fulfilled by the authorities, such as:

1. Revised pay structure to be increased from Rs 5200 to Rs 20200 and grade-pay Rs 1400.

2. Permanent status and promotion (Assured career progression).

3. Paid medical leave.

4. Job on compassionate grounds for the dependents of the deceased.

5. C.P.F/N.P.S account.

6. Diwali Bonus

Suspension done to muffle the voice

The employees have been demonstrating since December 20th, but they boycotted work from December 30th, 2023. The authorities have taken action against the striking employees by suspending 18 of them. The Mooknayak spoke to Kaushal Kishore “Aditya,” one of the suspended employees. He said, “Yesterday, the Principal Secretary of Urban Planning had spoken to us and assured us that our grievances would be heard, but he had not set a time limit for this. Still, we were willing to withdraw the strike, but the LDA Vice-Chairman issued the suspension letter for us, and it was uncalled for.”

He added, “The letter from the LDA VC charged us with disrupting the supply of power and water by striking the work, whereas the reality is that only the cleanliness work has been obstructed.” He alleged that there are more than 18 suspensions, and it is being done to muffle the voice against the embezzlement of the PPF Fund to the tune of 800 crore by the authorities. On Thursday, more than 4,000 demonstrating employees were heading to the Chief Minister’s Office for gheraoing the office, but the police aborted it by stopping them at the Kanshiram Eco Garden protest site.

Smarak Samiti: A Special Arrangement Body

The Smarak Samiti is a temporary body created by the BSP government in 2009 for the maintenance of the monuments built by its government in Lucknow and Gautam Budh Nagar. The samiti is administered by a board consisting of 12 members and is headed by the Principal Secretary of Urban Planning, while the Vice Chairman of LDA is the secretary. The samiti is run by a contributory fund received from 12 different departments. About 5300 employees were recruited by the Samiti in 2011 at a grade pay of 1400, but their status has not improved.

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