'Board not utilising funds for welfare of labourers'

The district Building and Construction Labourers Association has alleged that despite having enormous funds in the treasury, the Labourer Welfare Board is not utilising sufficient amount for the welfare of labourers.

Speaking to reporters here, district Building and Construction Labourers Association president Shekhar Bangera said that the Welfare Board has around Rs 6,150 crore, of which only Rs 250 crore is spent on labourers. There are several issues bothering the workers and the government is least bothered, he said.

He added that the issue is being discussed with the support of CITU. He added that sand mining is also another issue that has created problems for poor labourers. Sand mining at river water is not permitted and it has decreased the opportunities for labourers, he said.

He said that the Building and Construction Labourers' Association, Kutpadi-Kadekar-Udyavara Samiti is organising a tug of war competition for labourers at Kutpadi on December 24. Labourers from Mangaluru and Udupi would be taking part in the competition. Building and Construction Labourers' Association, Bengaluru vice president B Umesha would be inaugurating the competition. Kaup MLA Vinay Kumar Sorake and zilla panchayat president Dinaker Babu would be present on the occasion.