Udupi, September 20: District Building and Construction Workers Association (CITU) secretary Balakrishna Shetty warned of calling for Udupi Bandh if the sand problem was not solved immediately.

Addressing the construction workers who staged a protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office here on Thursday against the scarcity of the sand in the district, Shetty said that the district administration has not taken any steps to lift sand from the sand blocks. If the district administration thought about the legal problem, the labourers would not get their livelihood. They could not lead their life without sand. They were not asking luxurious life. But they want minimum requirement for their livelihood, he said.

They submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari. Association President Shekar Bangera, Honorary President Dayanand Kotian, Leaders Suresh Kallagar, Kaviraj, K. Shankar, Ganesh Nayak, Rama Karkada and others were present. Before the protest, the agitators took out a protest march from Manipal Tiger Circle to DC office.

Demands

  •       The district administration should take steps to provide one unit sand at Rs 2,000.
  •       Country-made boats should be allowed to lift sand.
  •       Vacant posts in the Labour department should be filled immediately.
  •       Pension should be increased to Rs 3,000.
  •       Housing loan and subsidy should be given for construction workers to construct houses and purchase sites.
  •       PF should be implemented as announced in the 2017 budget.
  •       All construction labourers should be given ESI facility.



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Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.

''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.

The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.

The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.

''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.

Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.

These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.

There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.

The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.