Drishtiheen Jan Sangathan threatens shutdown in Himachal

Yog Raj Sharma

The North News

Shimla, November 26

Drishtiheen Jan Sangathan Himachal Pradesh today warned of an intensified protest, saying it will block roads on  December 3 — World Disability Day — and lay siege to the Chief Minister’s official residence. The group has also threatened self-immolation if its demands continue to be ignored. The members of the Drishtiheen Jan Sangathan have been staging a sit-in for 764 days in Shimla, including a month-long protest in the biting cold outside the state secretariat. Despite multiple rounds of talks, the organisation says the state government has done little to address its concerns.

Protesters accuse the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu administration of turning a blind eye to their plight. They say they have spent more than two years on the streets demanding that backlog vacancies under the blindness quota across various departments be filled in one go. The group says it will not leave Oak Over until the government accepts its demands. If no action follows, it warns it may resort to self-immolation.