RAMNAGAR: Pointing towards the steep hike in the prices of essential commodities and resultant hardships faced by the people, JKNPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh today said that unbridled inflation at the time of surging covid pandemic had posed the most menacing threat to the very survival of common man.
Addressing public meeting in Ramnagar area Singh said the unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG had resulted in escalation of prices of various goods and services in general resulting in immense public hardships. Most distressing aspect of the matter was the rise in cost of living without any corresponding increase in the income of the people. The people had lost their jobs and sources of income and the govt had failed to compensate them in such difficult times of corona. He said the worst afflicted were the poor and middle class people whose earnings had drastically reduced in the recent past due to COVID pandemic and economic slowdown. The poor labourers, the daily wagers, the contractuals, the small and marginal farmers were facing worst ever economic crisis due to negligible income and increased expenditure due to the incessant hike in prices of essential items of everyday use.
Accusing the Govt of having failed to fulfil its obligations as a welfare state, Singh said while the prices of essentials had multiplied manifold, it had failed to effect any increase in the wages and honorarium of the poor daily wagers and contractuals working in govt establishments thus forcing them to starvation. It had further stopped the supply of free ration to the poor and BPL families despite the deductions being made from the DA of the Govt employees, pensioners and Ex-servicemen. The poor labourers who had lost their sources of livelihood during corona needed to be provided adequate financial assistance for their survival.
Seeking the linking of daily wages and other relief to marginalized sections to inflation, Singh sought immediate review of Minimum Wages Act besides hike in honorarium and emoluments of other lesser privileged sections of work force and govt employees.
