Contractors stage sit-in at Nagpur Zilla Parishad water supply department over unpaid bills

Contractors staged a sit-in at the water supply department of the Nagpur Zilla Parishad on Monday. They are angry that bills for work under the Jal Jeevan Mission and other water supply schemes remain unpaid. They have also not received back the amounts held as FDR, or fixed deposit receipt.

There was a major commotion in front of the executive engineer's chamber during the protest. Matters escalated to the point of a scuffle among the contractors themselves, and police eventually had to be called. No resolution had been reached till late at night.

The contractors claim that bills worth crores of rupees for work they carried out under the Jal Jeevan Mission are pending. Contractors who were already facing financial hardship now find it difficult to bear the cost of the work. The FDR amounts have not been returned either, which has left them deeply angry. With Deepavali near and no sign of payment, their anger has grown.

The agitated contractors began a sit-in inside the department's office. Some contractors said that until they receive the FDR amount, no one except staff would be allowed into the executive engineer's chamber.

Meanwhile, some contractors began entering the chamber, and a dispute broke out over this. The executive engineer was left virtually confined to the chamber, and tension prevailed across the office.

Police were called as the quarrel among the contractors grew. However, the sit-in did not end even with police present. The contractors' stand is clear: they will not call off the agitation until a firm decision is taken on the FDR amount and the payment of pending bills. Their agitation was continuing late at night.