Patna, Dec. 31: While the rest of the capital was counting the last few hours to the New Year, water board employees are fighting for their salary and basic facilities.

The employees, led by corporator and president of water board employees’ union, Jyoti Gupta have been on a dharna for the past four days outside the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) office in support of their eight-point demands.

One of them, Vaidyanath Pandey, has pledged a fast-unto-death till the demonstrators’ demands are met with.

Gupta, corporator of ward number 37, said: “There are about 300 employees in the PMC water board who are not given regular salaries or the basic facilities. We are not going to move until our demands are granted.”

The protestors’ demands include implementation of assured career promotion, dearness allowances since July 2010, regular salary, regular family pension to the beneficiaries of dead employees and group insurance facilities among others.

Gupta said widow of Dayanand Ram, a daily wager of the board, who died after self-immolating outside the PMC in September is yet to get employment on compassionate grounds.

“Fifty-two-year-old Ram did not get his salary for nine months. He was forced to take the extreme step because he could not feed his family. There are hundreds like Ram, who are working with the board and get erratic payments. Are we waiting for more Rams before we start paying them their dues and regularise their appointment?” said Gupta.

Pandey, 50, who has not had water or food for the past three days refuses to move. “The senior authorities have not paid any heed to our demands and we have no other option left. We have also visited chief minister Nitish Kumar’s janata darbar several times but even that did not help us. We are only demanding what should be rightfully given to us and we are even being denied that,” said a frail Pandey today.

Chandar Paswan, a 47-year-old employee and member of the association, told The Telegraph: “We are not on strike but are taking turns to make it a round-the-clock protest. My family is in a very bad condition. I have not received my salary for eight months and my children are on the verge of starvation.”

Gupta also said: “Mayor Afzal Imam did not talk to us properly and said we were unjustified in having such a long list of demands.”