Workers at the Games Village site, meanwhile, have been working without any wages for over two months now. While some of them were paid a certain amount in the first week of March, many others said they have been waiting for wages since January.

“While I and a few others who work in the same tower were paid in March, there are many who have been waiting since January. When we asked for payment, the contractors told us that the Company (Emaar MGF) owes Ahluwalia Rs 100 crore. That’s why they have not been able to pay us,” Mahesh Kumar, a worker, said.

Kumar hails from Purnea in Bihar and works as a plumber in one of the 36 towers at the site. “We had been told we’d be paid in May. Almost half the month is over but we are yet to get any money. If we are not paid by this weekend, we have decided to go back home and look for work there,” he said.

“We will be paid tomorrow, our contractor has said. But I do not want to get too excited till I actually get the cheque,” Deepak, a native of Katihar in Bihar, said.

“I have a 10-month-old son to look after. My wife and I have not been paid since January. We got money from our village to survive but even that amount is dwindling. How are we supposed to live?” he asked.

Workers say they were forced to go on strike on March 4 earlier this year to demand for payments. “Around 50 people in my department went on strike. The contractors say we will be paid soon. Today, all the contractors have gone to the city to find out about the payments,” Sandeep, from Rajasthan, said.

... contd.