Non-teaching staff and Class Four employees of the Siddhartha Medical College (SMC) staged a dharna in front of the college demanding payment of salaries and other allowances here on Wednesday.
The treasurer department has stopped payment of salaries to around 350 teaching and non-teaching staff of the medical college because of confusion over who was the real principal of the institution.
While the incumbent principal D. Rajyalaksmi went to tribunal the recently posted principal S. Babu Lal has gone on leave along with several other employees who did not want to get dragged into the controversy.
Andhra Pradesh Medical Employees Union SMC and Government Dental College unit spearheading the agitation demanded that the State Government appoint a permanent principal to the college and arrange for the release of salaries immediately.
Union treasurer U. V. Rama Raju talking to The Hindu said that about 150 class four employees, who depend entirely on salaries, were being put to tremendous hardship. “The mother-in-law of one of the employees passed away. The man had to borrow money needed for cremation,” he said.
‘Bills sent back'
Mr. Raju said that medical reimbursement and other allowances that were due to employees had also been blocked and the treasurer had sent back the bills on Wednesday evening.
He said the administration of the medical college was in a mess with the incumbent principal suspending a clerk and surrendering an assistant director to parent department. The officials in the section were claiming that the Director of Medical Education (DME) had told them that Dr. Babu Lal was the principal and that no files should go to Dr. Rajyalakshmi. Dr. Rajyalakshmi however was saying that her case was in tribunal. She even went to the extent of complaining to the Police Commissioner and threatening the treasurer officers, Mr Raju said.
“If Dr. Rajyalakshmi did not threaten the treasurer officer our salaries and bills would have been cleared,” he said.
