'Home Guards get peanuts as honourarium'

Away from glitz and glory, these Home Guards only work without much hype about their service and all that they get for their service is ‘daily wage’.

There are about 47 personnel in Home Guards in the Taluk Centre, which was formed in 1971. Of this strength, 30 are men and 15 are women. These personnel used to fetch a daily wage of Rs 50 earlier and today it has been hiked to Rs 150, when they are on general duty. Apart from this, they fetch Rs 22.50 per day for exercise. They have four such exercises per month and in this way all that they fetch is Rs 90 per month. Many feel that the government is neglecting Home Guards who work like right hand to the police department.

Further they are not entitled to receive any pension or other retirement benefits. The facilities provided to Home Guards, well reminds the ancient concept of slavery. The Home Guards who had submitted memorandum to J H Patel Government, then to S M Krishna and later to B S Yeddyurappa have only gone waste. Taluk Home Guard Chief K Puttaiah told Deccan Herald that Government must provide them a decent pay, retirement benefits and the benefits which are ensured to security department personnel. As of now, the Home Guard personnel work with the anticipation that they will be coffered the respect that is due to them.