Pourakarmikas submit memorandum to Municipal Commissioner
Pourakarmikas took out a protest march and staged a dharna here on Saturday against the handing over of garbage clearing contract to private persons.
The pourakarmikas said the new arrangement would snatch away their livelihoods.
The march was taken out under the banner of the district unit of the Karnataka Madiga Dandora Madiga Meesalati Horata Samiti.
They started the march from the Ambedkar statue, near the Head Post Office, and covered Lamington Road, Brindavan Circle and Kittur Chennamma Circle before reaching the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation premises.
Led by the district president of the samiti Raju N. Pamadi, the protesters staged a dharna outside the HDMC gate, blocking the road for a while.
They said the contract would snatch away the livelihoods of 1,800 pourakarmikas working on contract basis in the twin cities.
They said the agency, which bagged 22 packages of garbage clearance, planned to recruit only some of the pourakarmikas.
They warned that an intense agitation would be launchedif the municipal corporation did not cancel the new contract.
They urged the Municipal Commissioner to take steps to award the garbage clearing contract to the previous contractors, under whom the 1,800 pourakarmikas were working.
They submitted a memorandum addressed to the Municipal Commissioner.
Traffic on Lamington Road was affected for some time. BVG India Ltd. has bagged 22 packages, covering 38 wards in Hubli-Dharwad, recently, and it’s yet to begin work.
