Dues still unpaid, HRTC pensioners set Nov 27 for fresh Shimla protest

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) pensioners have announced a massive protest in Shimla on November 27 if the state government and corporation management fail to address their pending demands.

The announcement came during a protest staged by pensioners at the Old Bus Stand here on Friday against what they described as discrimination in the release of dearness allowance (DA) and retirement benefits.

Rajendra Thakur, state secretary of the HRTC Pensioners Joint Struggle Committee, said elderly pensioners had been forced to take to the streets again as they were being denied financial benefits extended to other government employees and retirees.

He alleged that a 3 per cent DA instalment had been pending for 18 months. He also claimed that while the state government had recently granted a 5 per cent DA hike to its employees and pensioners, the HRTC retirees had been excluded.

Government pensioners had received a Rs 50,000 instalment towards revised pay scale arrears four years ago and most of their revised pension arrears had also been cleared, Thakur added. However, he alleged, HRTC pensioners were still awaiting their revised pension arrears.

The committee has demanded that the HRTC pensioners be extended the same financial benefits as state government pensioners.

The pensioners said they remained open to talks with the government and corporation management, but warned that they would intensify their agitation and explore legal options if their demands were not met.