Partial victory for Smriti Vanam contract workers

Vijayawada: After a month-long agitation, the contract workers of Dr BR Ambedkar Smriti Vanam received their pending salaries from the contractor following the intervention of CITU and KVPS leaders. The workers, who had been on a two-day hunger strike, ended their protest after the contractor agreed to pay six months of pending salaries out of nine, and to clear the remaining dues within a month.

CITU NTR District Vice-President Donepudi Kashinath and KVPS State Secretary Andra Malyadri provided lemon juice to the fasting workers and announced the partial victory.

They said the CITU had led several forms of protests—including hunger strikes, demonstrations, and petitions to officials—demanding payment of wages that had been pending for nine months.

They alleged that the contractor had failed to pay salaries despite assigning regular work, pushing workers into financial hardship. CITU leaders demanded immediate payment of the remaining three months’ wages and warned of intensified protests if salaries were not released on time.

CITU Central President K Durga Rao, KVPS leader Kranthi Kumar, and several contract workers, includingP Sunitha, P Vijay Kumari, and M Sujatha, participated in the programme.