MYSURU: With just a few days left for the Dasara festivities to kick off, there is no end in sight to the indefinite strike launched by the city's pourakarmikas.With the city's streets already witnessing overflowing garbage bins accumulated since the start of the strike, matters took a turn for the worse on Friday when striking pourakarmikas dumped garbage on the main roads as a mark of protest. Roads in the Devaraja Market area, New Sayajji Rao Road and other commercial areas in the city bore the brunt.
The pourakarmikas, who began their strike on October 3, are demanding regularisation of services, abolition of contract system, among other demands. Meanwhile, ministers G T Devegowda and Sa Ra Mahesh met a delegation of pourakarmikas to end the deadlock. The talks, however, failed after the pourakarmikas turned down the offer made by the government that all their demands would be fulfilled after Dasara. The ministers met the pourakarmikas in front of Mysuru City Corporation building and promised them that they would request Urban Development Minister U T Khader to convene a meeting in Bengaluru to address their demands.
They also requested the pourakarmikas to call off their stir as Dasara was fast approaching and they (civic workers) play an important role in keeping the city clean.Meanwhile, former Mayor Narayana, who is also the president of Karnataka Rajya Nagarapalike, Nagarasabhe, Purasabhe Pourakarmikara Mahasangha, said they will not call off the strike unless their demands are met.
"Khader has held two meetings and Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar has also conducted a meeting... but nothing concrete came out of the talks. We will be back in action once our demands are met. You (government) should exhibit political will to protect the interests of pourakarmikas," he added.