Sanitary staff not paid wages

Srikakulam: Sanitation workers working in Palasa, Itchapuram, Amudalavalasa, Rajam and Palakonda in the district on outsourcing and contract basis have been waiting for salaries since January this year. Srikakulam district headquarters was upgraded as Municipal Corporation two years ago. In all five municipal towns, the sanitation workers waiting for salaries and they expected to clear their salaries by first week of April.

But due to election code, treasuries are not clearing municipal bills. In Palasa, 87 persons working in sanitary wing and government need to pay Rs 20 lakh as their three months' salary. In Itchapuram town, 75 persons are working as sanitary workers and pending salaries amounted to Rs 12.52 lakh. In Amudalavalasa total workers in sanitation wing are 65 and their salaries amounted to Rs 12 lakh.

Total 68 persons working in Rajam and their pending salaries are Rs 14.80 lakh. In Palakonda total sanitary workers are 53 and their pending salaries amounted to Rs 13.50 lakh. "Sanitary workers are mainly depending on their meagre amount of salaries and even the amount is also pending for months together in the name of municipal accounts freezing," sanitary workers union district chief M Tirupati Rao explained.