Anakapalli Tribal Labour Complain Against Government Face-Recognition App
The job card holders protested that they have to mark attendance on the face recognition app twice a day. As the cellular network in the area, the labourers allege that they have to stand in the blazing sun for at least two hours to record their attendance.
Visakhapatnam: Labourers belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Rayipadu, Pedagaru, Ajayapuram, and Z. Jogampeta under Cheemalapadu Panchayat staged a protest in Ravikamatham mandal of Anakapalli district demanding scrapping of the face recognition app that the government uses in marking the attendance of those reporting for work under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
There are 16 tribal villages under the Cheemalapadu panchayat. 570 persons of these villages hold active job cards which make them eligible for rural works provided under the government’s VN-G RAM G scheme.
The job card holders protested that they have to mark attendance on the face recognition app twice a day. As the cellular network in the area, the labourers allege that they have to stand in the blazing sun for at least two hours to record their attendance.
The workers demanded that such a system should either be abolished or limited to once a day. They demanded that authorities provide them buttermilk to protect their health during the scorching summer heat.
Further, the protesters insisted that the government fill the vacant Village Resource Person (VRP) position in the panchayat for better coordination. In addition, they said employment opportunities should be created by the government on their own lands, particularly in cashew and mango orchards and around village tanks that need restoration and maintenance.
The labourers said the lack of village resource person is resulting in excessive workload and posing difficulties in managing the scheme.
Speaking on the occasion, Vyavasaya Karmikula Sangham district assistant secretary K. Govinda Rao and tribal leaders Gemmili Bhaskara Rao, Korra Mahesh, and Pangi Bhaskar Rao said their protest is to seek the government’s immediate intervention to ensure that work schemes are implemented in ways that safeguard the well-being of labourers.
