Pourakarmikas call off strike

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The striking pourakarmikas have decided to resume work from Tuesday after their main demand for regularisation was accepted by the government.

The strike lasted four days and was called off after the state government issued a letter on Tuesday stating that a committee consisting of officials and representatives of the Pourakarmikas would be constituted to look into the issue. The committee is expected to submit a report in three months, after which the regularisation process shall begin.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had earlier said that the state government would regularise the pourakarmikas, but the striking civic workers wanted a written assurance in this regard.
The government has also assured a housing scheme, maternity benefits, resting rooms and a scholarship for children of Pourakarmikas.

Garbage pile-ups

The four-day old strike had taken a toll on garbage collection and sweeping of streets in many parts of the city. There were garbage pile-ups on street corners and vacant plots in J.P. Nagar, Avenue Road and S.P. Road.

While the BBMP officials had claimed that there was no effect on the garbage collection in the city, residents complained of garbage pile-ups in their neighbourhoods.

Soumyangi, a resident of JP Nagar, said that dry waste was piling up in houses in her locality. “For the past few days, nobody has been coming to clean the streets. Shopkeepers and residents in the area tend to throw waste on the roads. But earlier it used to get cleaned. But now nobody is coming.”

The Freedom Park was the hub of their agitation with thousands of pourakarmikas taking part. “Workers are coming willingly to the protest venue. We are not forcing anybody to join us,” said Nirmala, general secretary of BBMP Pourakarmika Sangha.

Meanwhile, the BBMP had adopted various contingency measures to keep the city clean. According to Harish Kumar, the special commissioner of Solid Waste Management, the Palike was using sweeping vehicles at night to clean the road. It had also rented some private machines on a short-term tender.
However, these vehicles and cleaning trucks could only sweep the wide roads. Hence there was a garbage pile-up on most bylanes.