An association of Central Public Works Department engineers were planning on holding protests across the country against alleged misbehaviour by a senior officer with two CPWD engineers in Jammu and Kashmir on May 31, an office-bearer said on Sunday.
Central P.W.D Engineers Association vice-president Y.K. Tomer said the engineers would hold protests during lunch hour on May 31 and had intimated the authorities about the same. He added that the association demanded that the engineers do not face “high-handedness” in the future.
The association had on May 26 written to J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha alleging “harassment and illegal detention of CPWD officers by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board CEO” Nitishwar Kumar on May 25. The association said two CPWD officials - R.K. Mattu and Rizwan Alam - had been “illegally detained” for 10 hours on the directions of the CEO by Ramban district police. They alleged the incident took place during an inspection for an ongoing project being executed by the CPWD.
In another letter to Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri on May 27, the Central Engineering Service Group A (Direct Recruits) Association also took up the matter and sought his intervention. The CPWD’s Jammu circle office also wrote to the J&K chief secretary on May 25 about the matter.
Mr. Kumar did not respond to a request for comment.