Dengue mazdoors working in Tiruvannamalai health unit district have claimed that they have been receiving only Rs.180 as daily wage unlike their counterparts elsewhere who are receiving better pay.
The labourers have been engaged by the Rural Development Department to carry out dengue prevention work. Recently, they met the Collector and submitted a representation saying that they could not run their families with just Rs.180 per day.
A. Arumugam, a dengue mazdoor working in Karappattu village, said there were about 560 people in the district engaged in dengue prevention work. They were promised a wage of Rs. 254 a day while being recruited. “We are being asked to cover an area of 50 km in radius. We end up spending Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 on bus fare out of our wages,” he said.
K. Iyappan said, “Workers in Kanniyakumari are believed to receive Rs. 330 a day. Better wages are being offered in Vellore and Villupuram districts.”
