Pourakarmikas struck work and joined the Statewide agitation in Belagavi on Friday.
They are demanding regularisation of services, higher salary and allowances, and better working conditions.
Protesters walked to the Rani Channamma Circle and sat there for over an hour. They staged ‘rasta roko’ protest that forced the city police to divert traffic away from the circle.
The work of garbage collection got affected in the city due to the protest. The morning routine of door-to-door collection was not done. Streets were not swept and garbage bins were not emptied.
Activists said they would continue the protest till their demands were met.
Their demands include implementation of the Salappa committee recommendations, issue of identity cards to the around 900 manual scavengers in the district, distribution of housing sites, health and life insurance benefits, and ESI and PF benefits to workers.
Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil who met the protesters said the process of regularisation of workers was on across the district. “We have regularised around 135 workers of the 1,500 needed for Belagavi city. The work will continue in all urban local bodies,” he said.
Vijay Neeragatti, Deepak Waghela, Muniswami Bhandari, Ravi Medapuri, Gurudas Sawant, Ashok Chauhan, Vijay Kolhapure, and other leaders were present.
