Labourers of Archaeological Survey of India Not Paid in Karnataka

The labourers working in the Hampi region, employed by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), haven’t been paid their wages for the last three months, according to a report by Prajavani, a Kannada daily. The report quoted, Somla Nayak, an ASI officer as saying, “This is not the first time that there is a delay in payment of wages. We have brought to notice of the central government, the grievances of the labourers.”

When NewsClick spoke to its sources within ASI, a manifold story has emerged.

Indeed, as Mr. Nayak told Prajavani, this is not a new problem in the ASI. This has been going on for two years now – either the workers get paid very late or they don’t get paid at all. In most of the divisions in which ASI functions in the state of Karnataka, payments have not been made for last six months.

One of the labourers the Prajavani talked to said that there is no other option, as, due to the drought, there are no jobs available in the state. After not getting paid for nine months, a labourer who was employed in the Hassan circle has allegedly committed suicide, but the case was hushed, said the sources.

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The labourers are supposed to be paid minimum wage of Rs 551 per day, which adds up to a monthly salary of about Rs 16,000. However, labourers from Davangere, Bengaluru, Hassan and many other places are reportedly being paid only Rs 3,000 per month. According to sources, ASI has dismissed a lot of labourers who have been working with the organisation for 10-20 years, and now due to the shortage of the labourers, the burden over the employed labourers has increased. The labourers are made to work in the nights and are not even compensated, it was alleged.

WAPCOS Ltd., a public sector enterprise, under the aegis of Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, has been given the responsibility of maintaining and preserving the monuments in the state. A few locals that NewsClick spoke to claimed that the company is ruining structures by building new compounds around certain monuments and by pulling down walls around structures unnecessarily to build new ones. “This is just a way to make money.

The labourers employed by ASI have been protesting for two years now and are asking for making their employment permanent.

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