Government to pay pourakarmikas through bank transfer

 In a relief to thousands of pourakarmikas across Karnataka, the state government on Friday decided to deposit salaries directly into their bank accounts. It has been also decided to abolish hiring civic workers on contract from next month.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in which Urban Development Minister Roshan Baig, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, senior IAS officers and Karnataka Rajya Pourakarmika Mahasangha president Narayan were present.

After the meeting, Narayan told DH that the government has agreed to deposit salaries directly into the bank accounts of pourakarmikas instead of paying them through other channels. Besides abolishing the system of hiring pourakarmikas on contract, the government has also agreed to regularise them in three months.

“Hiring pourakarmikas on contract will be discontinued next month while regularisation will take three months,” said Narayan. BBMP joint commissioner (solid waste management) Sarfaraz Khan said the BBMP will have 20,000 pourakarmikas. Already 4,000 are on Palike’s rolls. The rest will be absorbed soon, he added.

Later in the evening, the jubilant pourakarmikas took out a “victory rally” inside the BBMP head office and celebrated their triumph by bursting crackers and dancing to drumbeats.