Last month, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the regularisation of the jobs of over 11,000 pourakarmikas who come under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). However, on ground, several pourkarmikas have not received their permanent status. This election season, their biggest worry is that when a new government comes to the helm, the order might be reversed or not effectively implemented.
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Promises not kept
“First, they (government) said that they would regularise 3,000 and odd jobs, then they said 11,000, but I feel like they never speak the truth. Many of us have not been regularised yet. This government’s term will be over soon and when the new government comes, they may claim that they cannot implement everything the old government had sanctioned. We have seen this happen for so many years,” said Manimeghalai, a pourakarmika from Koramangala, who has been working since 1995.
Many pourkarmikas shared the same opinion. “These leaders come during elections and campaign pompously. If we take the money they give us and vote for them, it is in no way helpful to us in the long run. I am a physically-challenged single mother and no matter who I vote for, it will not help with my children’s education in any way,” said Kamalamma, another pourakarmika from Banaswadi.
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There are not many new demands from pourakarmikas, except they want the assurances previously given to them to be fulfilled. “We want better salaries; we want proper facilities in the suvidha cabins. A place to have our food and drink some water is the most basic facility they can provide us with. They should also fix proper shift timings for us,” they demanded.
Significant in numbers
There are 16,000 pourakarmikas in Bengaluru out of which 8,000 are drivers and helpers, whose jobs have still not been regularised. “This will continue to be our major demand even if there is a new government. We want the jobs of all pourkarmikas, including drivers and helpers to be made permanent like the Chief Minister had assured,” said Maitreyi Krishnan of the BBMP Pourkarmikara Sangha.
(This is the fifth part of a series on what people want — people from sectors whose voices are often unheard, and who are not on the top of priorities in votebank politics.)