Ongole : VRAs stage protest for higher pay

Ongole : The members Andhra Pradesh Village Revenue Assistants Association staged a protest in front of the Collectorate here on Monday, demanding that the Chief Minister fulfil his promise made as the then Opposition leader to the agitating VRAs at Vijayawada in 2017.

The association's Prakasam district secretary Paladugu Viswananda and president Kalavakuri Brahmaiah said that they are working as the bonded labour in the Revenue department but the government is not listening to their pleas for years.

They said that despite increasing the salary, the government is now recovering the DA given by the earlier government. Though the prices of the commodities are skyrocketing, they are unable to meet the ends, they added.

The VRAs' leaders claimed that the then Opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy extended support to the VRAs protesting at Vijayawada on July 24, 2017, demanding the government to increase their salaries, provide DA and address other issues.

They said that Jagan Mohan Reddy assured to increase the salaries of VRAs to Rs 15000 within two weeks of coming into power, but it did not happened even after repetitive protests and requests to the government in the last two years.

The leaders demanded Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to fulfil his promise by enhancing their salaries to Rs 15,000 per month immediately. If not, they called for protests in a phased manner and announced to conduct a Maha Dharna in Vijayawada from August 2 to 4.

The VRAs from various mandals of the district including Marripudi, CS Puram, Veligandla, Ponnaluru, Kandukuru, Singarayakonda, Addanki, Tangutur and their leaders including the district treasurer G Ramesh, Ramaiah, Narasimha Rao, Sriramulu, Punnarao, and others also participated in the programme.