File picture of home guards protesting in Bhubaneswar demanding a pay hike

Bhubaneswar, June 12: The home guards, after 12 days of ceasework, will join duties from tomorrow after the state government agreed to fulfil their demands today.

After a talk between the representatives of the home guard association and the home secretary in the secretariat, it was decided to increase the daily remuneration of the home guards to Rs 200. At present, they are being paid Rs 150 daily.

The home guards said a five-member team of the Nikhila Utkal Gruharakhi Mahasangh had held discussion with home secretary U.N. Behera and other officials in the secretariat, following which the government also assured the representatives that no more home guards would be discharged from duties without proper inquiry. Besides, those, who had been discharged from duties earlier, can apply for the service again.

The home guards all over the state had ceased work since June 1, demanding hike in their daily remuneration from Rs 150 to Rs 300 and stop rampant discharge from duty. Moreover, they had also demanded the government to reinstate the suspended home guards.

“After the discussion, the home secretary assured us that there would be a hike of Rs 50 in our daily payment. We will get Rs 200 daily and it would be effected from June 1,” said mahasangha president Sanjay Behera.

“Earlier, the government was not ready to increase our remuneration. Though we had demanded it to be increased to Rs 300, we are happy for the moment with this much hike,” said Behera.

A letter from the home department has been sent to the commandant general, home guards, in this regard. Sources in the home department said the hike in remuneration would help all the 17,675 home guards all over the state and around Rs 32 crore would be spent for this.

Police work was largely affected because of the home guards’ ceasework. While the police control room (PCR) vans and other police vehicles stopped patrolling in the city, the traffic constables had to work hard to manage the vehicular movement at different intersections. More than 1,300 home guards work for police in Bhubaneswar.

“We will be relieved mostly after the home guards join us in duties. For the past 12 days we have been doing overtime and single-handedly manning the traffic squares in scorching heat,” said a traffic constable. Though as per rule, home guards are recruited to assist the police, lack of personnel has made the police department to depend on the voluntary service providers.In the police department, the home guards carry works, including driving police vehicles, managing vehicular movement at various traffic squares, night patrolling, work in the officials’ residences, and at times, even go for Maoist ambush in the Naxalite-affected areas.

However, they had been alleging that they were paid a pittance and the authorities were discharging them for slight mistakes and were not reinstating them. Though in March, they held a protest, their demands were not fulfilled which prompted them to go for indefinite ceasework.