The tiff between Karnataka government and Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) over renewal of racing licence has left 1,200 daily wage earners in lurch. The stress of it may have claimed lives of two workers – a cashier and a ticketer.Cashier Srinivas, 49, died of a heart attack a month ago. His colleagues say that he used to be worried because he was the only breadwinner for his family and had the responsibility of his wife and two children. His wife had to take loan from bank and family to cover the hospital bill of `4 lakh. The medical benefits provided by the Club covered only `1 lakh.
Perhaps, the reason for the untimely death of the ticketer Shymlama was her mounting debts. The 55-year-old widow passed away three weeks ago due to high blood pressure. She had been working at the ticket counter for 35 years. She is survived by two children.
The other workers are surviving on loans and some savings. Most of the workers have been serving the BTC for two decades. They earn around `400 on a racing day. Since there has been no on-course races taking place at BTC for three months, workers such as computer operators, supervisors, runners, technicians and cashiers find it difficult to make ends meet.
These workers include physically challenged employees, visually impaired and women who are either single parents or widows who have sold their ornaments or taken loans.Mamtha JK (name changed), 43, says she hasn't earned a single penny since August 31. She is the sole bread winner in her family and she has three children to look after. "I had to borrow nearly `45,000 from a private bank to pay the school fees and every month, I repay the loan in installments. It comes to `1,500 every month and with no income, I don't know how am I going to pay it," she says. A computer operator Laski R (name changed), 46, along with her husband, has been working for BTC 26 years now. "We are managing with our savings now. We are worried about how will we manage later."
It has affected the retied employees as well. Srisai Ram (name changed) is waiting for his gratuity post his retirement on October 31. He says that the Club has promised to pay once licence is renewed.
The older workers are in dilemma. Cashier Ramila Srivastav (name changed) says, "At this age, nobody is ready to employ us elsewhere. Even if we try to start afresh, our past occupation of being part of betting, acts as a barrier. People immediately say no. Even after working here for nearly four decades, there is no relief or a word of sympathy from the club's end. There is no worker's union." Physically challenged people were not even paid annual bonus. "Though the temporary workers got a relief with an annual bonus, we were not included," says Krishna (name changed).
When asked why they do not have a workers' union, they say that they are refrained from forming one. They were even asked to write an apology letter for demanding the union. They were also threatened with being fired if they insisted on it.
The fear of unemployment is prevalent among the permanent staff as well. Even though the jockeys and horse trainers are being paid by the horse owners, they fear they might come on streets if the licence is not renewed. Hidayatullah Khan, a member of Karnataka Trainers' Association (KTA), says, "I'm a 56-year-old man. Except training horses, I don't know anything else to do. If races are not revived soon, we are likely to go on streets. How long will BTC provide us with maintenance without organising races?" Horse jockey Aliyar is also worried. "There are nearly 150 jockeys in the club. Though our trainers pay us monthly, until the licence is renewed, we are not sure if this is sustainable. I have been training as a jockey at BTC for four years and I cannot think of going elsewhere because the horse trainers prefer locals. Obtaining an experience certificate from the Turf Club is a long and tedious process," he says.
The white collar workers (temporary workers) are banned from entering the premises of the club. If no action is taken at the earliest, they they they stage a protest or go on an indefinite hunger strike.
When City Express tried contacting BTC board members, they were unavailable for comment.
Government ordered a CID probe
The government has not issued a racing license with effect from September 1,2017. The matter is in the High Court and the BTC alleges that the government isn't renewing the license for extraneous considerations. A petition filed by Bangalore Turf Club and Karnataka Trainers Association alleges the government of demanding membership for 50 of its nominees. Further, the government ordered a CID probe accusing BTC of feeding drug to a horse. Commenting on this issue, a member of KTA says, "The reports were manipulated and instead of showing Prokin (a medicine used to cure uneasiness and given in minimal quantity to a horse), the reports claimed that cocaine was found in the urine sample."
Revenue of BTC more than other centres
Nearly 10,000 people are being affected directly or indirectly due to non-renewal of licence. The maximum betting happens in Bangalore Turf Club and they earn a revenue of more than `200 crores per annum, far beyond what other centers in Pune or Ooty earns. Once a year, a professional trainer has to renew his licence by paying a fee about `150 to the government.
Club responsible for the horses
There are nearly 850 horses here. If the Club stops paying personnel in charge of feeding, exercising or washing the animals, the horses might even die. Sources say that the club has been warned by animal husbandry department in Delhi.