They demand regularisation of their services, increase of monthly honorarium to 75% of the pay scale of a police constable, 13-month pay in a year and separate battalion for VDF
TFM Ukhrul Correspondent
Manipur Village Defence Force (VDF) of Ukhrul and Kamjong Districts personnel along with their parents staged a sit-in protest at Ava Market, Ukhrul on Monday. The protest was organised by Ukhrul and Kamjong VDF Welfare Association.
The protest spearheaded by the All Manipur VDF Welfare Association from July 16 has spread to other parts of Manipur. The demands include regularisation of the services of the VDF, increase of monthly honorarium, which should be 75% of the pay scale of a police constable, demand for 13 month pay in a year and separate battalion for VDF.
Parents of VDF personnel said, “Their wards have rendered their service for 13 years hand in hand assisting with the police department. They cannot apply for other jobs because they are overage now. We earnestly appeal to the Government to kindly look into the grievances by regularising their service.”
The VDF was raised by the State Government in 2009 and they have been paid Rs 7,500 per month as honorarium. “VDF personnel were raised to be stationed at the village to tackle the law-and-order problems but we are being deployed in Ukhrul Headquarters to assist the police,” stated one VDF personnel.
The parents stated that “the honorarium is too small to run their families. They have been on active duty since 2009.” Not only assisting the police in maintaining law and order, they were also deployed during the outbreak of Covid-19.
They appealed to Chief Minister N Biren Singh to address the demands of VDF at the earliest looking at the service rendered by the VDF.