NMPT Shipping company's labors strike enters 8th day,
Mangaluru: Workers at the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) have been on an indefinite strike since January 29 to press the authorities to full fill their various demands including the implementation of minimum wages.
All shipping companies workers must get minimum wages declared by the central government. Per hour Rs. 150 OT must be paid. Every year, 20 percent of minimum wages must be given as a bonus. Equal pay for equal work should be carried like harbor's direct employees. All workers job should be made permanent. No worker should be removed by giving false reasons. These are the demands for which workers of NMPT shipping company are protesting.
This is the first time, workers of the shipping company have come forward to raise their voice against the authorities to full fill their demands.
AICCTU national vice-president Shankar said "first time in the history, more than 1000 workers have staged the protest near NMPT entrance gate. Maximum laborers are localities. During this protest, the authorities of the company have brought labors from Bihar and Ballary and taking work from them. When there is the legal protest in the process, recruiting temporary workers is illegal and is an unfair labor practice which is prohibited according to the Industrial Dispute Act 1947".
Letters sent to shipping company
"Letters have been dispatched stating that workers are absent which is illegal. There is a legal strike going on, and workers are being harassed and threatened by all means. Shipping companies are visiting the workers' residence and threatening them to join work. Our workers are determined, and they have been asked to sign an agreement with the Labour Department in the presence of deputy labor commissioner under section 12(3) so that workers will be safe. The management of both the companies have promised many things, but never fulfilled them," he added.
Meeting on February 6
"A conciliation meeting has been called by deputy chief labor commissioner (Central) Subramaniam on February 6. He is the Karnataka in-charge and the labor authority deputed by the central government to handle the issue of the strike here. If the company management attends the meeting tomorrow, before the labor authority meeting, we are willing to cooperate fully to solve the issue. If our demands are not met, we will have to continue the strike. Now, the ball is in the court of the shipping company," he said.
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Ballari violence: Were cops made scapegoats to cover political failure?
Bengaluru: Across Karnataka, a serious discussion has begun after the violence in Ballari and the swift action taken against police officers who were on the ground that day. The core question being asked is simple: when law and order fails, why are police officers the first to be shown the door, while political responsibility is quietly pushed aside?
The January 1 clash in Ballari was not a sudden street fight. It was a political confrontation involving supporters of two sitting MLAs. A banner related to the unveiling of a Valmiki statue became the flashpoint. What followed was stone-pelting, firing, and the death of a Congress worker. The situation spiralled within hours.
Within a day, Ballari SP Pavan Nejjur was suspended. Soon after, senior officers were reshuffled. Deputy Inspector General of Police Vartika Katiyar was transferred. No official reason was cited in the notification. But the timing made one thing clear: accountability, at least on paper, had been fixed.
Since then, there has been unease within police circles and political debate outside it.
Unconfirmed reports that Nejjur attempted suicide after his suspension were firmly denied by senior officers and the home minister. They said he was safe, resting, and under stress. Still, the very fact that such reports gained traction says something about the pressure officers feel when action is taken overnight, without public clarity.
Opposition leaders have called Nejjur a scapegoat, pointing out that he had taken charge only hours before the violence. They have asked how an officer can be blamed for a political clash he barely had time to assess. They have also drawn parallels with earlier incidents where police leadership was suspended after tragedies, while political decision-making remained untouched.
However, responding to this criticism, Home Minister G Parameshwara rejected the argument that the suspension was unfair because Nejjur had assumed charge only hours earlier. “It is not important whether he reported to duty on the same day (of incident) or one hour back. Duty is duty. He is not new to the department. IPS officers are trained to handle such situations any time. If he had acted swiftly and promptly, he could have prevented the situation from escalating.” He had said adding that Nejjur did not discharge his duties properly and that this was the reason for his suspension.
Now, fresh and unconfirmed reports suggest that Vartika Katiyar may have met a senior cabinet minister, questioning why she was made to pay the price for a situation that was political in nature. There is no official confirmation of this meeting. But the talk itself has added fuel to the debate.
What is being discussed in the state is not whether the police made mistakes. Many acknowledge that the situation on January 1 was mishandled. A clash earlier in the day was allowed to cool down without strong preventive action. Later, a banner came up near a politically sensitive location. The crowd should not have been allowed to build up. Better anticipation was needed.
At the same time, critics are asking whether the entire burden can be placed on officers when the trigger itself was political rivalry. Who installed the banner? Who mobilised supporters? Who had armed private gunmen present at the spot? These are questions that are still part of the investigation, yet administrative punishment moved faster than political accountability.
This has led to a wider comparison with past incidents, including the Bengaluru stampede after the RCB victory celebrations. There too, police officers were suspended after lives were lost, while decisions taken at higher levels were defended as unavoidable. Many are now saying Ballari fits into the same pattern.
The argument being made is not that the police are blameless. The argument is that responsibility appears to stop at the uniform. When things go wrong, officers are transferred or suspended to send a message. But when the violence is rooted in political rivalry, that message feels incomplete.
Within police ranks, there is also quiet concern about working conditions. Officers say they are expected to manage volatile political situations overnight, often with little room to push back against powerful interests. When things hold, they are invisible. When they collapse, they stand alone.
The Ballari episode has once again exposed this fault line.
For the government, the challenge is larger than one suspension or transfer. The real test is whether it is willing to publicly acknowledge political failures when law and order breaks down, instead of letting the system suggest that the police alone dropped the ball.
For now, what remains is a growing feeling across Karnataka that accountability is selective. And that whenever politics turns violent, the easiest answer is to change the officers, not the decisions that led to the violence in the first place.
