MGNREGA workers protest in Kalaburagi demanding payment of pending wages
Over a hundred rural labourers working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) staged a protest on Friday in the premises of the Zilla Panchayat office in Kalaburagi, demanding immediate payment of six months' pending wages and the fulfilment of other long-standing demands.
The protesters, comprising workers from various levels of the job scheme, raised slogans demanding job security, the formation of an employee cooperative society, and the urgent disbursement of wages.
Speaking at the protest, many workers expressed their distress over the non-payment of wages since December 2024.
'It has become nearly impossible to sustain our livelihoods. We are surviving on loans. It is incorrect to inordinately delay the wages as it would adverse impact on the labourers who live from hand to mouth. The government must release our salaries immediately,' said one of the protestors.
Ravishankar Lavate, president of the Karnataka State Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Workers' Welfare Association, while addressing the gathering expressed discontentment over the non-payment of wages.
'We have been working for 10 to 12 years for the implementation of the NREGA scheme across the rural areas in the district. For the past five to six months, we have not been paid for the work we have completed. Managing household responsibilities has become a significant challenge without a steady income. Many families are completely dependent on the job scheme for survival. The government should understand the seriousness of the issue and act without delay.'
Following the protest, a memorandum outlining their grievances and addressed the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat was submitted to the Zilla Panchayat Planning Director, Jagadevappa.
Association vice-president Roshan B.K., State Representative Raju Vanti, and several local office-bearers and the labourers were present in the agitation.
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