BENGALURU: Two pourakarmikas poured human faeces on themselves as a mark of protest as they were allegedly not paid salaries for 15 months. The incident took place in front of the Kallahalli Gram Panchayat office in Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s hometown Kanakapura, in Ramanagara district, on Tuesday morning.
Rangaiah and Suresh, who work as pourakarmikas on contract basis, resorted to pouring human faeces on themselves and sat on dharna in front of the GP office. They alleged that their salaries were not cleared for 15 months, and officials were not responding to their repeated requests.
Soon after the incident, Srinivas, the panchayat development officer of Kallahalli GP, issued cheques. The incident shocked residents of Kallahalli and they criticised the administration for holding up the salaries of pourakarmikas, and allowing the matter to escalate.
Kumaraswamy, state adviser to Jaya Karnataka Janapara Vedike and a resident of Kanakapura, said a protest will be held on Wednesday, demanding the suspension of officials responsible for the incident. “We will appeal to the Zilla Panchayat CEO to suspend the officers and ensure such incidents don’t repeat,” he added.