Imphal, April 26: Over 100,000 government employees and 40,000 pensioners in Manipur have rejected the terms and conditions spelt out by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh for implementing the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.
On Thursday, employees of the Forest and the Economics and Statistics departments abstained from work and staged a sit-in protest.
A leader of the striking employees said: "Conditions like setting up another fitment committee to examine the issue including source of additional fund are totally unacceptable to the government employees and pensioners."
On the sidelines of a party function in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office last week, Biren Singh said the government had agreed in principle to give enhanced pay and pension as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission.
"But Manipur can't afford to arrange an additional fund of Rs 1,600 crore annually to pay the enhanced pay and pension. The committee shall examine all aspects," he added.
L. Biken, Secretary of the Joint Action Committee spearheading the protests, said a committee had already been formed. "As such, it is a merely a delaying tactics."
According to senior officials, the striking employees were reporting for duty on time but refusing to do any official work.
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I am back home: All England missed, Sindhu lands back in Bengaluru from Dubai
Bengaluru (PTI): Two-time Olympic medal-winning Indian badminton star P V Sindhu, who was stranded in Dubai due to closure of airspace in the Gulf region, has returned to the country after pulling out of the All England Championships in Birmingham.
Sindhu posted on X to announce that she is back in the city.
"Back home in Bangalore and safe. The last few days have been intense and uncertain, but I'm truly grateful to be back to my house," she posted.
"A heartfelt thank you to the incredible ground teams, Dubai authorities, airport staff, immigration, and every single person who stepped up and took such good care of us during a very difficult time. The empathy and professionalism meant more than words can say.
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"For now, it's time to rest, reset, and figure out the next steps," she added.
The former world champion was on her way to Birmingham via Dubai, when she was stranded after the flight operations were suspended in the Gulf region following the US and Israeli bombing of Iran.
Iran subsequently retaliated, hitting Dubai as well.
"Moments like these remind you how fragile normal life really is," she had posted on February 28 while revealing some details of her ordeal, which included an explosion near her place of stay.
She had described the experience as "extremely tense and scary moment" for her and her team, including Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.
