Date:04/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/08/04/stories/2005080414370300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Revenue, PR staff intensify agitation against Collector

Special Correspondent

Directive on compulsory stay at place of work

VISAKHAPATNAM: Revenue staff, MPDOs, Panchayati Raj Secretaries, PR Ministerial staff and Extension Officers of PR and Rural Development intensified their agitation against District Collector Praveen Prakash and commenced their `pen-down' strike from Wednesday.

The employees started relay hunger-strike from July 20 and resorted to work to rule from July 1 against the attitude of the Collector which they termed as adamant and anti-employee.

Reacting to the Collector's letter to the coordination committee of the employees to drop the pen-down strike, its chairman and president of the district unit of the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Services Association, T. Govardhana Rao, told a press conference that the Collector should instead think about his actions which caused a lot of agony to the employees as well as people.

Collector blamed

Mr. Rao cited several incidents in which the Government staff and officials had to face the wrath of people or forced to withdraw their actions due to the Collector. He alleged that the counselling for transfers was not done in a just manner. Employees who were women, those suffering from serious illnesses and those above 55 years of age were transferred to the agency area. Three women MPDOs were suspended for not joining duty in the agency after being transferred and their removal from service was also recommended to the Govenrment.

The Collector failed to take action against four district officials in spite complaints levelled against them that they were harassing women officers.

Coordination committee spokesman K.V.V. Siva said that the pen-down strike was resorted to make the Government understand the situation in the district. According to him, the South and West mandals created in Visakhapatnam urban area had no legal sanction and any one could challenge the certificates issued by these two new MRO offices.

Letter cited

State Village Secretaries Association president E. Srirama Murthy claimed that the Commissioner of Panchayati Raj issued a letter stating that there was no need for a village secretary to stay with his or her family in the village where he or she was working.

The Collector had suspended 150 village secretaries for not staying in the places of work. Mr. Murthy said that the village secretaries were willing to stay at their places of work but not always with their families due to several reasons.

More malaria deaths

He also disagreed with the claim of the Collector that only seven persons died due to malaria in the agency area. Mr. Murthy claimed that there were many deaths and this fact could be proved in an open debate with the Collector.

The coordination committee, reacting to the Collector saying that employees should not go on strike when fevers were sweeping the agency area, reminded that the staff in the agency area were exempted from participating in any kind of agitation in view of the fevers and other diseases.