A laborer named Punjab Singh says that “around 7 lakh rupees sit for the entire work. After half the work, when the workers asked the forest department to give so much money, when the work is complete then give it. On this, the employees of the forest department started threatening that they will not get the money, do what you have to do. ”
- 11 March 2021
- Updated 10:30 PM IST
- The work was not completed, the pits were not dug by the prescribed criteria: DFO
- Workers dug 20 thousand pits in one month after harvesting
- Workers had come to Guna by traveling 421 km from Katni.
Outside the collectorate premises in Guna, 38 workers staged a sit-in on Wednesday to get paid for their work. These laborers of Gound tribal community show hands blisters and say that for a month they worked hard but the forest department is sitting on their wages with a horoscope.
These laborers had traveled 421 km from Katni and had come to the fold with the expectation that working here would reduce their financial problems. But he did not know that after working for a month, he would be denied wages.
15 rupees for each pit, in fact, there was some knowledge of these laborers in the fold. He had told them that the forest department needed laborers to dig pits here in Maksudangarh area. After this, in early February, these laborers multiplied from the harvest. Women were also included in these. They were told that a total of 46 thousand pits are to be dug. Every pit was fixed at a wage of 15 rupees.
These workers say that they started working hard and dug around 20,000 pits in a month. According to the workers’ claim, when they asked for wages from the Ranger of the Forest Department, they got the answer that till the pits are not dug, they will not get even a pie. On this, the workers got their foreheads and they stopped digging more pits.
If there was no hearing in the Forest Department, these workers staged a sit-in outside the Collectorate premises on Wednesday for about 10 hours to get their rightful income. On receiving the information that the workers were sitting hungry and thirsty in this way, the collector of Guna, Kumar Purushottam, made arrangements for food for them. He also asked the forest department to look into the problem of laborers.
You will not get money, do what you want to do!
A laborer named Punjab Singh says that “around 7 lakh rupees sit for the entire work. After half the work, when the workers asked the forest department to give so much money, when the work is complete then give it. On this, the employees of the forest department started threatening that they will not get the money, do what you have to do. ”
When contacted DFO Mayank Chandiwal of the Forest Department on this issue, he said, “The laborers have not completed the work. The criteria according to which the pits were to be dug, was not dug, so the payment was stopped. ” However, the Forest Department also says that there is a problem of the budget at the moment, so payments cannot be made simultaneously.
However, the workers say that how can they live without living so far away from home. Until the payment of wages is received, we cannot even return home.