PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The agitation by the sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) intensified on Wednesday. A large number of the members of the agitating Safai Karamchari Union gathered at the State Secretariat carrying brooms and staged demonstrations against the alleged delay in the State government’s approval of the proposal for an honorarium hike and recruitment of 715 Paryavaran Mitras (sanitation workers).
Notably, the MCD board had approved an Rs 800 increase in the monthly honorarium of sanitation workers and the recruitment of 715 Paryavaran Mitras during its April 29 meeting. However, even after nearly three months, the proposal is still awaiting the State government’s approval, leading to resentment among the sanitation workers.
Venting out their grievances, the president of Dehradun Safai Karamchari Union, Sonu Khairwal said that the union had repeatedly urged the government to approve the pending proposals, but no decision has been taken so far. “The union has also demanded that the cut-off date for regularisation be revised from 2018 to 2024 so that more sanitation workers can be made permanent. But they choose to sit on our justified demands,” he said.
He warned that their agitation would continue until the State government accepted their demands. “We will not back down under any circumstances. The State government must step forward and meet our long-pending demands. If they choose to ignore, we will intensify the stir,” he stated.
