Karnataka: Men in khaki upset over delay in pay hike

BENGALURU: While the constabulary is upset over the government’s delay in announcing a pay hike as per the recommendations of a committee headed by ADGP Raghavendra Auradkar, the police department has continued to initiate disciplinary action against those who had shared or liked posts related to protest by police personnel in this connection.

It is learnt that a police constable attached to Kodigehalli police station was suspended early in this week, after he allegedly forwarded a message on a WhatsApp group in which there were only policemen.

The message was about policemen and their family members going on a strike against the state government for not revising their salaries. As senior officers were updated about this, they suspended the constable as a disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, the policemen, especially those in the lower rung, are upset over the government not keeping its word. “When a strike was planned in June, the government took an undertaking from us that we would not go on strike and then promised that it will give us pay hike. Even after a committee headed by an ADGP submitted its report recommending 35 per cent hike, the government is still sitting on the file. It’s more than one and half months after the committee submitted its recommendations, but the government has not acted so far,” a constable in the East division said.

Another constable working in the West division said the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the police had already had its impact on the functioning of the police.

“We were hopeful that the government would do something about our salaries. But we are not sure when they will give us the hike. The delay has brought down our interest in the work. Though we are sent on beats, many of us are not doing effective work. This is what happens when the government does not respond to our problems and demands,” he said.

Announcement today?
With Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar to hold a joint press conference on Friday, the police personnel are hoping that the government would make an official announcement of the pay hike. It is learnt that the government has decided to revise the salaries and increase it by 24 per cent.