Pourakarmikas not paid for 2 months in Mahadevapura

BENGALURU: The BBMP may have intended to streamline payment of salaries to its pourakarmikas by directly depositing the money into their accounts since January this year, but this doesn’t seem to be helping sweepers in Mahadevapura zone, who claim to have not received salaries for two months.

o blame is the garbage mafia not the BBMP, says Ms Maitreyi Krishnan of the BBMP Guttige Pourakarmikara Sangha. "While the BBMP is making direct payment of salaries to pourakarmikas,  in Mahadevapura  the garbage mafia is working hard to stall this. It is using its muscle power to threaten sweepers and seize their passbooks and ATM cards,” she says, adding, "All these years they  inflated the number of pourakarmikas and pocketed  their salaries. But ever since the biometric system was introduced, this has become difficult and so they are trying to create all sorts of hassles."

In her view only the BBMP can resolve the issue and make sure the pourakarmikas get their due. When contacted, BBMP commissioner  Manjunath Prasad, insisted that  the salaries of eligible pourakarmikas of all eight city zones were being deposited directly into their bank accounts since January.

Asked about the complaints of the sweepers in Mahadevapura,  especially of those in ward numbers 84 (Hagadur), 85 (Doddanekundi) and ward 150 (Bellandur) and he  said, "After we introduced biometric attendance the hundreds of ghost pourakarmikas that existed, vanished.

Since then salaries have been given to all the eligible pourakarmikas. But all those who believe they can just add their names to the list at the last minute, will not be paid."

Mayor Sampath Raj too said  the eligible pourakaramikas had no  reason to worry as they would continue to receive their salaries. “In days to come  garbage collection will be even more streamlined, saving the BBMP crores,” he promised.