Delhi's mosquito breeding checkers call off strike

Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 9th September, 2010

About 3,200 inspectors who check mosquito breeding in Delhi houses called off their strike Thursday after the lt.-governor's office and the municipal commissioner assured them their demand for regularisation of jobs would be looked into.

'The lt-governor's office and Municipal Commissioner K.S. Mehra assured us that they would look into our demand. So, we called off our strike and resumed duties,' Ashok Chaudhary, who heads the domestic breeder checkers, said.

The domestic breeder checkers, as these inspectors are called, began their strike Sep 6.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi Wednesday warned the checkers their services would be terminated if they did not return to work Thursday.

The checkers, who go door-to-door to check mosquito breeding in houses, have been demanding their jobs be regularised on the civic rolls. In 2008, they observed a 47-day strike to press the same demand.

With cases of dengue and malaria rising in the capital and over 4,000 athletes and officials from 53 countries scheduled to arrive for the oct 3-14 mega event, mosquito breeding has caused a major concern for the civic authorities. The city has already recorded 1,580 dengue cases and four deaths this year.

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