‘Dumping’ of homeless people: 6 more Indore civic staffers sacked

Indore:

After facing flak for dumping homeless people out of Indore amid the cold weather last month, the city civic body terminated the services of six more temporary employees on Wednesday, an official said.

Last month, two temporary employees of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) were removed from service and a deputy civic commissioner was suspended after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan expressed displeasure over the incident that took place on January 29.

On Wednesday, IMC Commissioner Pratibha Pal took action against six more temporary employees on the basis of an inquiry report submitted by a three-member committee headed by an additional civic commissioner, the official said.

It was found in the investigation that these temporary employees had a direct role in the incident of forcibly taking some homeless elderly persons out of the city limits, he said.

Meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Neelabh Shukla alleged that the Indore civic administration made temporary employees a scapegoat to save senior officials in this case.

Last month, a video on social media showed municipal workers dumping some homeless elderly persons outside the city, drawing sharp criticism from various quarters.

The incident has taken place at a time when the administration of Indore, which has won the country’s cleanest city tag four times in a row, is making all efforts to keep the city neat and tidy to win the ‘Swachh Sarvekshan 2021’.

Indore is among 10 cities of the country selected for the drive of rehabilitating beggars under the Centre’s social justice department, officials earlier said.

As part of the campaign, people surviving on begging are being identified, and they will be provided employment to bring them into the mainstream, they said.