Bhopal: Sans Insurance Cover, BMC Firemen Risking Life For Rs 8K

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): For over 15-20 years, around 13,000 daily wagers are serving at a paltry salary Rs 8,000 at collector rate in Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). The firefighters in the BMC fire brigade are risking their lives while attending to emergencies sans any insurance cover.

The municipal fire brigade has a staff of 500 staff of which 450 are daily wagers. Despite serving for around 15-20 years these staffers are merely four-digit salaries. These firefighters have training certificates but for all these years they continued to serve as daily wagers. BMC administration only assures them that it has written to the state government for their regularization but even after serving 20 yrs, they continue to be daily wagers.

Shivpal, fire brigade staffer, said, “We have undergone all training and have required certificates. For the last 15-20 years we have been working as daily wagers earning merely Rs Rs 8,000/ month.”

While the salary is too low, we have also not been given any insurance cover and we are risking our lives while responding to emergencies, said Shivpal, adding, “If anything happens to us while attending to any emergency our family will be ruined as there is no support system”.

Farid, another firefighter, said we risk our lives dousing fire but still we have not been given any insurance.

“Even after 15-20 years of service, we are serving as daily wagers. BMC administration always assures that it has written to the state government for regularization but many of us have completed 75% of our service life waiting for it,” he said.

‘No govt support to families if anything happens to us’

“In the current times it is very difficult to manage a household monthly affairs with a salary of Rs 8,000 but we have no option. We do not get any other benefit or incentive. We do not have any insurance cover and in case of any casualty, our family will get no support from the government,” said a firefighter Farid.

‘BMC financial heath not sound’

“BMC financial condition is not sound to regularize all the daily wagers. But as soon the condition improves, BMC will definitely regularize them. They are getting salaries at collector rate so we cannot give them an increment from the BMC fund.”

- Kishan Suryavanshi chairman BMC

‘If at all, only 1,261 daily wager will be regularised’

“There are 13,000 daily wagers in BMC but only 1,261 of them are in the knowledge of the state government. So if the government decides to regularise them only these 1,261 will get the benefit.

- Ashok Verma, BMC employees Association