BENGALURU: H.R. Srinivas, 53, works for an agency entrusted with implementing MGNREGS in a Karnataka district. But what he didn’t sign up for was the brutal effect that being honest would bring with it. On last Monday, he found himself one finger less as a result.
Srinivas, a head of a team of five engineers, is in charge of determining the payments to be made to contractors under the MGNREGS scheme. Trouble erupted when Srinivas, along with Kunigal taluk panchayat officer Narasimhaiah, visited recharge pits (where rainwater is used to replenish groundwater) between Bagenahalli and CH Palya. “We found that the contractors had exaggerated the measurements of works executed. The official estimate for each pit was Rs. 69,000. We decided to reduce the amount to Rs. 42,000 per pit as they did not conform to the prescribed standards.” said Srinivas. The pits belonged to Keshava and Manjunath who had provided with the exaggerated amounts. But after Srinivas refused to sign the corrupted bills, on Monday, one of the contractors went to Srinivas’s office and threatened him with dire consequences if he reduced the amount. Keshava reportedly warned him: “I’ll chop your hand if you sign the modified bill.” But Srinivas did not listen to them and decided to go by the rule book.
The events which ensued hence as told by Srinivas are that “After finishing work, I was riding back to Magadi from Kunigal, about 20 km away, on my two-wheeler when Keshava and Manjunath followed me on a bike. At Thalakere, one of them pulled out a machete and swung it at me. They missed. As I slowed down, they slashed my right hand. Before they could strike again, I took a U-turn and sped away till I reached a tea stall. When I stopped, I realized my hand had been chopped and I was soaked in blood. The people at the tea stall called an ambulance and shifted me to a hospital in Magadi and then to Bengaluru.” Srinivas is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Basaveshwaranagar.
Doctors have bandaged the hand as a first measure and are exploring the possibility of reconstructing it. An FIR has been lodged with the Kudur police in Ramanagar district and the rural development minister H.K. Patil said that the government would freeze all payments to the contractors accused in the case. He added that the medical bill of Srinivas would be taken care of by the government.
Srinivas sadly pointed to his finger and said “This is what we get for being honest and doing our duty.” This, unfortunately, is true in our country. The one who tries to be honest is chopped off and 10 corrupt people are formed in the place. But nevertheless, as responsible citizens, we must adhere to our principles come what may.
