LUCKNOW: They are a harried lot, to say the least. The Samajwadi Party-led UP Government’s policy to neglect Dalit memorials put in place by former Chief Minister Mayawati has left numerous workers, roped in for the upkeep of these commemoratives, virtually jobless.
More than 6,500 workers, mostly Dalits, are finding it hard to make ends meet in Lucknow and Noida.
The government is ‘hostile’ to the Dalit memorials, and decided to hold the salaries of the staff and withdrew all security for the memorials.
“We have not got salary for the last two months,” said Anil Kumar, a gardener of the famous Ambedkar Park here.
“We have no money now with us to feed our families and are virtually starving,” lamented Anil, who said that he was appointed by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to maintain the parks and buildings around the memorials in Lucknow and Noida in April 2011. The Mayawati government had also appointed cooks, electricians, gardeners, sanitation staff and peons for the projects.
Talking to Express, a senior LDA officer said, “the new government gave instructions to abandon the parks and end the services
of the staff deployed there.