While everyone around the world is busy speculating about how India will meet the deadlines for Common Wealth Games 2010, I noticed, as usual, the mistakes done at the top level are being suffered by the people at the last node of hierarchy. The poor people are working under immense pressure and extended work hours to ensure a decent meal to eat and a shelter to live in for themselves and their families. The work around Delhi is on day and night, as our Chief Minister Ms. Sheila Dixit has warned the contractors that if they don’t finish the work on time, they will be blacklisted forever! Which I believe is a good way to get the work done, but she should have said this 2 years back.
So far govt. has been understanding enough for the people working as labor on various CWG projects by providing them sufficient care by registering over 2000 workers for protection from exploitation and ensuring sufficient wages are provided. Most of these people are employed under govt.’s scheme Gramin Rozgar Yojna to provide work to every citizen of India – specially the poor & illiterates from rural India. But by assuming that, because they are poor and uneducated, they are good enough for hard labor work only. They were brought in from various parts of the country, UP, Bihar and several other states to dig earth and carry stones? What will they do after the games are over? Where will they go? What are the employment and skill enhancement plans for these people? So many questions unanswered. And they will remain unanswered, coz we will be busy covering our behinds from the public. I hope we make it and keep our nations pride.
Seen above are some daily wage laborers working late in the evening near one of the games sites.
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