Pourakarmikas have decided to stage intensified, statewide protests in a phased manner in support of their various long pending demands.
State Working President of the Pourakarmikas’ Association B Peddanna told a press conference, here on Thursday, that they will hold a symbolic protest on January 5 in Mysore demanding fulfilment of their demands and submit a memorandum to MCC Commissioner P Manivannan.
Subsequently, they will stage a one day symbolic protest in front of the statue of Mahathma Gandhi, on MG Road, Bangalore, on January 9. The very next day, on January 10, they will hold a ‘urulu seve’ as a mark of protest in Mysore. If their demands are not until then, all the pourakarmikas will immediately strike work and hold protest in front of the Mysore City Corporation.
“We have held several protests and submitted memoranda to authorities concerned, but to no avail. We gave a memorandum to former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in April, 2007. Although he had directed the Secretary of Urban Development Department and Director of Civic Administration to look into our demands, they are citing several laws and delaying the process”, he charged.
“Manivannan has not prioritised the problems of pourakarmikas. We had protested to retain him here, but now it has become difficult to atleast meet him, certain officers at the corporation behave like dictators”, Peddanna alleged. Previous corporation commissioner A B Ibrahim had made arrangements to give money for treatment to pourakarmikas under the health insurance cover, but Manivannan has stopped the facility, he charged. Pourakarmikas are not being given separate allowance for working on special days and provident fund facility too, he observed.
He demanded that retired porakarmikas be given the revised pension amount from the last eight months, compensation for death be hiked from Rs 10,000 to Rs 60,000, and the services of 23,700 contract pourakarmikas in the State be regularised. Association office bearers N Mara, N Narasimha, G Mahadev, T Srinivas, Raju and others were present at the meet.
Polls put off
The elections to the Government Employees Association has been postponed indefinitely, following a protest on Wednesday by some of the members over the omission of their names from the voters list.
Today being the last day for withdrawing the nominations, the candidates were in for a shock when the authorities postponed the elections indefinitely. After the announcement of the cancellation, the candidates held a protest in front of the association building, along with their supporters.
