MARGAO
Come Saturday and the Margao Municipal Council will hold an unprecedented parade of civic daily wage and contract employees in the municipal hall.
Over 200 workers working under various municipal supervisors will be paraded in the municipal hall in front of Chairperson Lyndon Pereira and his deputy Deepali Sawal to check their presence and attendance.
Reason: At the just-concluded Margao municipal council meeting, an allegation was made by a city father that some of the workers have been taking their wages without putting in any work.
After councillor Damu Shirodkar highlighted the issue of workers enjoying wages without doing any work in the city, it was decided to hold a parade of all the daily wage and contract workers.
Citing media reports that some workers reportedly conveyed to the Chief Officer that while they are being made to put up work, others take the wages without doing any work, Shirodkar had demanded action in the matter.
Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes told The Goan on Thursday that he has directed all the Municipal supervisors to get the daily wage and contract workers working under them for the parade so that the people who made the allegations identify the workers who remain absent but collect their wages.
“The entire exercise is being initiated as per the Council’s decision. Our supervisors will get the workers working under them and parade them before the Chairperson and the vice-Chairperson”, he said, adding those who had doubts over certain workers remaining absent can pin point the workers in front of the Chairperson and vice-chairperson.
Shadow claims on defunct vehicles rubbished
MMC Chairperson Lyndon Pereira at the Municipal garage early Thursday morning to inspect the vehicles. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira has rubbished claims made by the Shadow Council for Margao that the seven rickshaw garbage vehicles are lying idle in the municipal old market garage for want of batteries.
Visiting the Old market garage early Thursday morning as per the council’s decision to inspect the vehicles, Lyndon along with the officials inspected the vehicles, only to find the mini-garbage vehicles in working condition. “I inquired with the MMC Mechanical engineer Rohit Gaonkar, who has maintained that all the seven vehicles are in working condition. I got the officials to start the vehicles and they are all working”, he said.
Saying that these vehicles had some battery issues in the month of April, Lyndon said the issue was resolved then with the civic body replacing the batteries.
He requested to SCM Convenor Savio Coutinho to first verify the facts before rushing to the media, saying that the former MMC Chairperson ought to have first inspected the vehicles to see whether they are in running condition or not before briefing the media.
