Demands hike in pensions to disabled
Hyderabad, March 11, 2008Manda Krishna Madiga in an apparent bid to keep his hold over the movement of the disabled fighting for just compensation from the government suddenly launched an agitation tonight. Following his recent announcements to go on a hunger strike along with the members of of the Vikalangula Hakkula Porata Samithi near Legislative Assembly on March 15 demanding that the pension for the disabled be hiked from Rs.200 to Rs.1,500, a splinter group of disabled decided to meet the Speaker tomorrow.
In a press release, president of the Joint Action Committee for the Disabled, G Satyanarayana Reddy announced that they would be meeting the Speaker tomorrow and if the talks fails go on a hunger strike. The release made it very clear that it was a motivated group with a rider that no normal personal would be allowed to participated in the hunger strike. Meanwhile, Manda Krishna Madiga decided late in the night to start an indefinite fast. He along with a group of disabled started an indefinite fast on the terrace of the building housing the Madiga Yuva Sena office in Muralidhar Bagh near Abids.
Krishna along with the other disabled locked themselves on the terrace. Even the entry points of the building to reach the fourth floor were locked to stop the police from arresting the protesters. Krishna Madiga charged the government of ignoring the welfare of the disabled. He asked the government to study the Pondicherry government's disabled pension scheme given in three categories Rs.1,000, Rs.1,250 and Rs.1,500 and said 200 educated disabled persons would launch the indefinite fast. City Police Commissioner B Prasadarao visited the place.
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