Amid heated arguments between the Union and State governments over dues payable to the latter under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Karnataka’s demand for increasing man-days from 100 to 150 because of prevailing drought, rural labourers have launched a letter campaign, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding payment of pending wages and increase in the man-days.
Under the aegis of the Grameena Koolikaarmikara Sanghatane (GRAKOOS), which works with rural labourers at the grassroots level, MGNREGA labourers in 16 districts en masse wrote letters and dropped them in post boxes on Friday.
“The rural labourers are heavily dependent on the MGNREGA as there is little agricultural activity due to drought. The government is neither paying them for the work they have completed nor giving fresh work on demand. Since our repeated requests on both counts went in vain, we have launched the campaign. Labourers have posted letters in the headquarters of 16 districts now. The remaining would continue to post letters in their respective gram panchayats for the next few days,” Sharanagouda, a local leader of GRAKOOS, told The Hindu.
