Cooch Behar, June 30: Pump operators who distribute drinking water to the Cooch Behar civic areas have threatened to stop work from tomorrow if their demand for increased daily wages is not met.

Six of the 30 operators have been on an indefinite fast since June 24 near the public health engineering (PHE) department here.

Ganesh Nandi, their spokesperson, said although the hunger strike had been on for the last seven days, the authorities were yet to respond. “So we have decided that the remaining 24 of us will join the agitation from tomorrow. This will result in disruption of water supply to the town.”

The operators used to get Rs 65 a day in 2003 when the municipality took over the water supply from the PHE department. The government rate was enhanced to Rs 100 in 2008. “But we have been drawing the old wages,” Nandi said, adding they were not being given the arrears, nor paid according to the revised rate.

Sources in the municipality said the government grant of Rs 31 lakh a year given to it since 2003 for water supply had remained unchanged. Executive engineer of the PHE Sanjay Kumar said he had informed the higher authorities about the matter.

“I don’t know how we will manage without drinking water from tomorrow,” said a resident of Ward 13.