Forest Dept employee alleges harassment

By Syed Nashir Ali Gillani

Srinagar, Mar 29: Ghulam Hassan Sofi employed in the Forest Division Tangmarg for Watch and Ward on Thursday alleged that he was being harassed by “the clerical staff”.
As per Hassan, he was appointed in the department on June 4, 1998, in the compartment 47 of the division.
“The clerical staff at forest division has pushed me to the wall. They have not considered the actual date of my joining. The have uploaded my biometric details but to my surprise, they have mentioned 2012 as the date of joining. The have been harassing me and even thrashed me recently,” he said.
Hassan said that in 2008, District Forest Officer (DFO), Budgam, ordered him to join the control room.
“I was serving at the headquarters for almost four years. I have even received Rs 9,020 as salary of a few months in 1998,”he said.
Hassan said that in 2012, he was transferred to Tangmarg division again.
“At present, I am working with the Tangmarg division, giving my best to the job assigned to me. I am presently rendering my services in the soil conservation department,” he said.
“The concerned clerk is not listening to anything. He even asked me not to disclose his wrongdoing. But it is a matter of my bread and butter,” he said.
Forester Khaipora, Ghulam Mohammad Magray, admitted that Hassan was appointed in 1998.
“There is some tussle between him and a few employees. Some issue had come up, and, in the meantime, the clerk uploaded the biometric information mentioning 2012 as his date of appointment. We will see how the issue can be resolved,” he said.