In this city beautiful, socially underprivileged people are still living a life of isolation and are a harassed, underpaid lot, feels Buta Singh.
CHANDIGARH: In this city beautiful, socially underprivileged people are still living a life of isolation and are a harassed, underpaid lot, feels Buta Singh, chairperson of the National Commission for Schedule Castes (SCs).
"Despite the countless promises and assurances of the Chandigarh administration, Scheduled Caste people are forced to live in unhygienic and most miserable conditions with very little amenities," Singh, a former union minister, told mediapersons in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Even the Chandigarh administration agrees but officials here seem least bothered about the welfare of Scheduled Caste people, said Singh. According to the 2001 census, they comprised 17.5 percent of the city's population.
"The most harassed segment among Scheduled Caste people is that of sweepers (safai karamcharis) who are forced to suffer at the hands of private contractors. They have no job guarantee, no pension scheme and other allowances," Singh said.
He said earlier sweepers were direct employees of the municipal corporation but now the administration has handed over this work to private players who do not pay them properly. They are getting only one third of what they were earning earlier. This is sheer violation of government of India's Minimum Wages Act.
"Another thing of grave concern in Chandigarh is the early dropout of Scheduled Caste students from schools and colleges. They are not provided free books and other stationery promised to them," stated Singh
Singh asserted that seats should be reserved for Scheduled Caste students in all schools and colleges of the city. In some city colleges, there are cases where lecturers and professors who support the Scheduled Caste issues have to face the authorities' wrath.
"The Chandigarh administration should also streamline its policy of issuing SC certificates to deserving people. We have formulated a strategy for this and will implement it in one month's time after the green signal from the union government," said Singh.
He pointed out that the maximum number of liquor vends were near the areas where Scheduled Caste people live. These people easily fall prey to such things so the Chandigarh administration should remove them, demanded Singh.
Besides, the whole waste of the city is also dumped near their colonies that pose a great threat to the health of people residing in those colonies, pointed out Singh.
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