DLR workers of State Government-run sports hostels and stadiums in Odisha today stopped their work and sat on dharna in front of the Directorate of Sports here, protesting against non-fulfillment of their demands, including regularisation of jobs.

``Despite setting up everything for sportspersons and officials to practice, perform and earn success, we have been underpaid for the past 25 years. Notwithstanding repeated appeal, our basic needs have not been fulfilled due to official apathy,`` lamented State Sports and Youth Services Employees Association (SSYSEA) secretary Raj Kishore Sahu.

According to sources, as many as 109 persons have been working on daily wage basis for the past 25 years. These work-force includes groundsmen, sweepers, cooks, electricians and peons. But despite rendering important services for the promotion of sports in the state, they are getting only Rs 90 to Rs 116 per day as wages. In this meager income they are unable arrange two square meals a day let alone affording other basic needs, including education for their children.

Repeated representations to make them regular employees or work-charge of the Sports and Youth Services Department have failed to yield any result. ``Related file is being repeatedly sent back without sufficient reasons by the Finance Department. Under the circumstances, we have decided to stop work and seat on dharna,`` explained Sahu.

Besides regular employment, the workers demand dress allowance and accommodation inside the stadium. ``DLR workers are forced to work 16 hours a day at different sports hostels and stadiums. This practice should stop,`` he added.

However, a ray of hope for the aggrieved workers appeared later in the day when Sports Director Saswat Mishra came up with a proposal that offered monthly contractual jobs, which has been in vogue in other government departments. If accepted, the DLR workers are stand to take home around Rs 5,000 a month. ``A clear picture is expected to emerge tomorrow,`` stated Sahu after a meeting with the Sports Director Mishra.
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PHOTO: DLR workers seat on dharna in front of the Directorate of Sports in Bhubaneswar on March 12, 2012.