KALABURAGI: The protest by daily wagers of the Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike turned ugly on Thursday night with police lathicharging them and arresting 86 protesters.
Police also removed the body of Tippamma, a daily wager who died on Wednesday night, from the Palike premises where the protest was taking place. The daily wagers have been staging protests for the last 15 to 20 days demanding wages that have been pending for 48 months.
Officials said Tippamma, who was also part of the protests, had died in her house after returning from the dharna on Wednesday night.
However, the agitators alleged that she had died while protesting at the site itself.
On Thursday morning, the labourers placed Tippamma’s body in front of the Palike office and commenced their protest, demanding payment of wages of all 473 labourers.
Negotiations between officials and the agitators were held throughout the day. Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Vipul Bansal and Superintendent of Police Amit Singh also visited the agitators and told them that they would convene a meeting of both sides to discuss the issue on Friday.
However, the agitators remained unconvinced and insisted that Tippamma’s arrears be paid immediately. They also demanded that the civic body provide employment to her son on compassionate grounds.
Additional Superintendent of Police P B Mahantesh also tried to convince the protestors to end their strike.
However, when the deadlock continued till 11.15 pm on Thursday night, police resorted to caning the
protesters and arrested them. They were released on bail in the wee hours of Friday.
Tippamma’s body was also sent to the mortuary and later handed over to her relatives. The final rites were conducted at the burial ground at Basava Nagar on Friday.