*YSRCP demands hike in home guards' pay*

Machilipatnam, July 7: YSRCP has demanded that the coalition government hike the home guards' salary to Rs 30,000 per month on par with Telangana and extend all benefits to them, as what they are doing in the State is nothing short of bonded labour.
Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, former minister Perni Venkatramaiah (Nani) said home guards are being used as legalized bonded labour in the state with a daily wage of Rs 710 and with no other allowance or welfare scheme.
We demand that their salary be increased to Rs 30,000 per month on par with what the Telangana government is paying, besides extending welfare schemes like Talliki Vandanam, free education to their children and pensions to dependents. Home guards are not being given Travel Allowance while on bandobust duty and this anomaly should be cleared, he said.
Earlier, some of the home guards had undergone written exams and physical fitness tests but were not promoted as constables, which should be considered.
Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan and Nara Lokesh had made a slew of promises during the elections about the working conditions of the police, but not a single promise was kept.
They had promised two days' leave per month, which should be implemented within a six-month time frame.
For police constables, leave encashment has not been cleared for the past six months, which should be addressed too, he said, and demanded that homeh guards' welfare should be looked into and their working conditions should be improved.