The Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board has delayed the disbursement of educational financial aid for the children of construction workers for the last three years. In response, the children of these workers, led by the CIT Union, staged a protest in front of the Kundapur MLA’s office on Tuesday, September 10, demanding the state government address the issue.
Suresh Kallagar, President of the union, urged the MLA of Kundapur to pressure the government to release the overdue educational aid. The protest is part of a statewide movement initiated by the Karnataka State Building and Other Construction Workers’ Federation (CITU). As part of this movement, workers’ children across Karnataka are submitting memorandums to their respective MLAs to bring attention to the issue.
“Numerous protests have been organized by our union demanding the release of educational financial aid for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years,” said Kallagar. He noted that both the board and the labor minister had previously assured the release of the aid, but those promises have not been fulfilled. “The labor minister is citing bogus cards as an excuse to create obstacles for children’s education,” Kallagar complained.
The protest began with a welcome address by Santosh Hemmadi, the union’s general secretary. Students including Pallavi, Shreyal S, Sameer, and Bhoomika K Poojary, along with union leaders such as Vice President and CITU Taluk Convener Chandrashekhar V, Krishna Poojary, Shashikanth S K, Vijendra Koni, and Sudhir Poojary, participated in the demonstration.
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