Hyderabad, Telangana government increased the salaries of Hyderabad civic body sanitation workers on Saturday in gratitude for the good work they have been discharging amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Compared to other places like Mumbai and Chennai, the severity of cases is lesser in Hyderabad. A major role was played by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) sanitation workers," said K. Taraka Rama Rao, Municipal Administration Minister.

He said the government has raised their salary from by Rs 3,000 to Rs 17,500 per month

Rao reminded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had already raised their salaries twice in 2015 and 2017.

"The chief minister has a special affection towards the sanitation workers," he said.

According to Rao, the chief Minister opined that how much ever we give to the sanitation workers, it is still less.

"Because when 1 crore people are generating trash, 25,000 people are working hard to clean it. How much ever we do to them, it is less," he noted.

Rao said the pay hike is a Diwali gift to the workers and expected that they will be happy.