Pourakarmikas to strike on January 28

The contract pourakarmikas with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), who have not received salary since October have decided to call for a strike from January 28. “The BBMP is taking pourakarmikas for a ride. We have approached many officials for their help, but so far nothing has materialised. When we approached them, they asked us to contact the contractors, who in turn, passed the buck,” said S Balan, president of the BBMP Contract Pourakarmikas Union, here on Tuesday.

Referring to the law, he said, “The officials asked us to contact contractors for payment. Workers must be paid their dues by the seventh of every month, failing which, the principal employer must settle the payment. The BBMP, being the principal employer, has not done anything in this regard.” He accused the BBMP of cheating pourakarmikas of their livelihood and lashed out at BBMP commissioner H Siddaiah.

This Time, BBMP Drums Make Noise Outside Prestige Office

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) revenue officials on Tuesday played drums in front of Prestige Towers on Residency Road to recover Rs 1.75 crore from property tax defaulters.  Savithri, Assistant Revenue Officer, Shanthinagar ward, said Prestige Towers has 10 floors and there are 157 properties, including some IT companies, bank, and hospital offices.

“Of these, 135 properties owners have already paid tax. But the remaining 22 properties, which are registered in the name of Archbishop of Bangalore, have not paid tax amount to the tune of Rs 1.75 crore. We have sent notices earlier and our officials have been visiting the building since July, 2012. We tried all possible means, including pasting notice on their door, but in vein. We opted for drum beating to recover taxes,” she said.

Further, Savithri said that the authorities of Archdiocese of Bangalore claimed that they sold the property in 1997.

“If they have sold the property, name of the owners should have been changed. But the BBMP records say that the property is still in the name of Archdiocese,” she said.