On a day when another accident at a Punjabi Bagh Metro construction site raised more questions about the safety measures for workers,a group of 60 to 70 labourers,working for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC),organised a protest at Jantar Mantar. The group Metro Kaamgaar Sangharsh Samiti alleged that the contractors working with the DMRC were openly flouting labour laws,while workers were put through harsh and unsafe working conditions. The group claims to represent labourers hired by the DMRC contractors. Many labourers are paid less than the daily minimum wage and are given a safety helmet and a fluorescent jacket in name of safety equipment, Ajay Swami,convener of the group,said. Swami further alleged that the Delhi government and the DMRC have given licence to the contractors to exploit the labourers. Workers are made to work for 13 to 14 hours a day without being paid for the overtime. All of this is due to the rush for 2010 Games, he said. Pankaj Gupta,a migrant labourer from Bihar was part of the protest along with around 30 other workers from the Zamrudpur construction site. We are forced to work in an unsafe environment, Gupta said. The protesters demanded a judicial inquiry into the Zamrudpur accident as well as the immediate dismissal of officers who had given a go-ahead for work to continue despite being intimated about the crack in a pillar.
