Chennai, May 26 (PTI): Serving as a part-time sweeper for a paltry Rs two per day in Tamil Nadu animal husbandry department for the past 17 years, a man has knocked at the doors of Madras High Court seeking regularisation of his service.

Admitting the petition by M Ravikumar, Justice M Govindaraju today ordered status quo on proceedings consequent to an April 19 last communication of the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services calling for interviews for post of assistants in the department.

The petitioner, attached to the sub-centre of the department in Vellodu in Erode District, submitted that he hailed from a poor background. He had to give up education and was forced to work to sustain his family.

Since July 20, 2000, he had been working as a part-time sweeper at the Vellodu sub-centre for a salary of Rs.two per day.

Though he expected his services to be regularised after two years, it did not happen.

To his shock, a notification was issued by the department to fill up vacancies to the post of assistants and his representation to consider his case was not taken up, he contended.

Citing various government orders, he said persons working as casual/part-time labourers were eligible to be absorbed into the government service.

The department in its counter affidavit blamed the employment exchange for not sponsoring his name.

It was 'inhuman' on the part of the government to keep employees like him unregularised for decades, Ravikumar said seeking a direction to the authorities to employ him as an assistant in the department.