Anakapalli Tribal Labour Complain Against Government Face-Recognition App

Visakhapatnam: Workers belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Rayipadu, Pedagaru, Ajayapuram and Z. Jogampeta under Cheemalapadu Panchayat staged a protest at Ravikamatham mandal in Anakapalli district, demanding scrapping of the facial recognition app used by the government to mark the participation of those going for work under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

There are 16 tribal villages under Cheemalapadu panchayat. 570 people from these villages have active job cards that make them eligible for rural jobs provided under the government’s VN-G RAM G scheme.

Business card holders protested that they had to mark attendance twice a day on facial recognition application. As the cellular network in the area, workers claim they had to stand under the scorching sun for at least two hours to register their participation.

Workers demanded that this system be either abolished or limited to one trip per day. They requested the authorities to provide them with buttermilk to protect their health in the scorching summer heat.

The protesters also insisted that the government should fill the vacant post of Village Resource Person (VRP) in the panchayat for better coordination. They also said that employment opportunities should be created by the government in their lands, especially around cashew and mango orchards and village tanks that need restoration and maintenance.

Workers said the absence of resource personnel in the village led to excessive workload and created difficulties in managing the programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Vyavasaya Karmikula Sangham district deputy secretary K. Govinda Rao and tribal leaders Gemmili Bhaskara Rao, Korra Mahesh and Pangi Bhaskar Rao said their protest was to seek immediate intervention of the government to ensure that work plans are implemented in a manner that protects the welfare of workers.