KHABRE TV NEWS - In protest against the handing over of water supply centers in the state to contractors for 5 years under the Public Health Engineering Department.

In protest against the handing over of water supply centers in the state to contractors for 5 years under the Public Health Engineering Department.

 

On the call of Bihar State Pump Drivers Association, all the pump drivers in the state including Nalanda district acted against the privatization by putting a black badge.

 

Now pumps and sump of water supply schemes will be operated through contractors in urban and rural areas in the entire state of Bihar. Till now it was operated by PhD division through semi-skilled daily laborers. Since the letter issued from the state level by the Public Health Engineering Department, the pump drivers working at the local level of the state including the district have been opposing it. The Pump Drivers' Association says that the contractual practice will put livelihood in danger. On Saturday, all pump drivers in Nalanda district worked with black badges against the decision to hand over the service to the contractors.

Speaking on the occasion, Madhusudan Sharma, president of Nalanda District Pump Drivers Association, said that all the operators of the district have been serving their services for the last 10 to 15 years. It is paid as daily wage. Last time during the talks, the Chief of Engineer and Co-Engineer of the Public Health Engineering Department had assured that no water supply center would be handed over to the contractors. He then withdrew the indefinite agitation for the last time. But this time the department has taken advantage of the lock down to trick pump operators handing over water supply centers to contractors for 5 years. He said that water supply service is a very important service, even in the global epidemic, all the pump drivers are supplying water by risking their lives every day. We are put on duty for 6 months of each year and then removed so that regularization cannot be done. To even On demanding that we have arrears of salary for the last 10 to 12 months, the department paid only 1 month in rural areas. Due to which most of the pump drivers have got the problem of starvation. Despite this, they are honestly supplying water to the people. He said that the officials of the top rank of the department have issued orders to hand over the operations of the water supply centers to the contractors to exploit the pump drivers for the benefit of the contractors.

State General Secretary of Bihar Raj Pump Drivers Association, Rajkamal said that on the one hand, the central and state government says that no corona will be knocked, despite the fact that in the Lok Down itself, the candidates who are in high positions to evict the pump drivers from employment, Created a game to benefit the contractors. In such a situation, the pump drivers and their families may have to face a lot of trouble, so they will be on indefinite strike by working with black badges until the government withdraws this black law and as soon as the indefinite after the end of the lock down Stop water supply for