New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Scores of bus marshals deployed in cluster and DTC buses on Friday went on an indefinite sit-in outside the Delhi Secretariat over non-payment of their wages.

The protesters said they will continue their sit-in outside the Delhi Secretariat until their demands are met and that their protest will be round-the-clock.

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In a related development, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena approved a proposal of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to terminate the services of all civil defence volunteers with effect from November 1 this year, an official at the LG Secretariat said on Friday.

"We knew this would happen. We have been bus marshals since 2015, but now suddenly our deployment is not legal. They should use the Nirbhaya fund to pay our dues. How can the government say there are no funds?" asked a civil defence volunteer.

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Kiran Devi, a bus marshal undergoing treatment for throat cancer at AIIMS, brought her one-year-old daughter to the Delhi secretariat.

"There are some medicines that have to be bought from outside. It has become difficult to buy such expensive medicines since I have not received my dues for the last five months. My husband is the sole earning member and we have to take care of our two children," she said.

Several others related similar tales of hardships, about how they have been unable to pay for their children's education or buy their parents' medicines, all because they were not paid their dues.

Sachin, a bus marshal since 2015 and who goes by his first name, said this is their fourth protest.

"We have protested four times -- once at LG House, once at CM House, then at DTC headquarters, and now outside Delhi Secretariat. We submitted memorandums but our pleas have not been heard. Nearly 60 to 80 per cent of bus marshals live in rented houses and they do not have money to pay it," he said.

Bus marshals do not get any medical benefit, if someone takes a "drastic step" then who will take the responsibility, he asked.

According to officials, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked the state Home minister to "appoint" civil defence volunteers as home guards and depute them as marshals in public transport buses in Delhi.

When asked his view about the move, Sachin said, "This is just another false promise by the government. They are trying to mislead us."

Sachin said since the Lt Governor has ordered their termination, they will intensify their protest.

"We are being asked by police personnel to leave the site since it is getting dark. But we will not move till our demands are met," he added.

Another bus marshal, JP Pandey, said they were being paid Rs 844 per day with no additional benefits.

"I worked for three years at the office of a district magistrate before I was deployed as bus marshal. We are transferred from one place to another like government employees but we have no additional benefits, no festival bonus. This is exploitation," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)