Hamali workers bemoan heavy burden, protest

Bowenpally: Hamali workers took out a rally at Dr BR Ambedkar Vegetable Market in Bowenpally on Friday, demanding the market committee to implement weight limit of 55 kg on vegetable bags.

Earlier, the farmers and hamali workers reached an agreement that the weight limit on vegetable bags should not be over 65 kg. On Friday, when some farmers brought vegetables in bags weighing 80 to 85 kg, hamali workers refused to unload them from the trucks.

Farmers showing their anger closed both the gates of the market yard, which resulted in heavy traffic jam in Bowenpally. Hamali workers too boycotted their work and took out a rally demanding authorities to implement the weight limit of the bags in the market yard.

AICTU Hyderabad general secretary M Narsimha Goud said that workers were forced to handle bags weighing more than 80 kg despite an agreement in the past to limit the bag weight to 65 kg, he said.

Narsimha Yadav demanded the market committee to limit the maximum weight of the bags to 55 kg. He said that some hamali workers who were forced to handle heavy weighs had heart attacks and other health issues. On representing the problems to authorities, instructions were given to limit the bag weight to 65 kg, but it is not being implemented at the field level, he lamented.