Letter To Editor: 20 Years On, Rural Kashmir's Digital Workers Still Wait

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
File photo of protest by CIC operators in Srinagar

It's been over twenty years. We are the Community Information Centre (CIC) Operators who have served across rural Kashmir under the Rural Development Department. We were hired to help bring digital services to the farthest corners of the region - to connect people with their government. We did our job. We stayed through floods, shutdowns, power cuts, and policy shifts. Yet our jobs remain temporary, our futures uncertain.

When we started, many of us were young graduates. We believed in the project. We believed in our roles. Most of us were posted in remote blocks where we became the first point of contact for people trying to access public services. We helped villagers apply for ration cards, pensions, birth certificates, and other essential records. Our work was recognized by local officials and welcomed by citizens. But year after year, our job status stayed the same - contractual, unstable, underpaid.

Successive governments gave assurances. Regularization was promised, most clearly during the previous tenure of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. His party's election manifesto in 2014 placed our issue high on the list. It meant something to us at the time. We believed change was coming.

But the promise was never fulfilled.

We have met every requirement. Our documentation is complete. Many of us have crossed the age limit for other government jobs. We have no safety net, no pension, and in many cases, not enough income to support our families with dignity. We live from one month to the next, unsure if our next paycheck will even arrive.

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This isn't just about employment. It's about recognition. It's about honouring the commitment made to a workforce that played a quiet but essential role in Kashmir's digital transformation.

We write now with a simple, sincere appeal. Let the government - and especially the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah - remember what was promised. We don't ask for favours. We ask for fairness. We ask for action.

After two decades, how much longer are we expected to wait?

Sincerely,

• CIC Operators, Rural Development Department, Jammu and Kashmir

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