Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s UK home to get a caretaker

Nearly nine months after acquiring the much sought after London home of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the state government is now in the process of appointing a caretaker for the sprawling 2.050 sq ft property. With the Indian embassy in London looking after the hiring process to ensure maintenance of the house, surprisingly, the state government is offering a wage of £7.20 per hour (approximately Rs 708), which is still short of the London Living Wage (basic cost of living) of £ 9.40 per hour.

The house, located at 10, King Henry Road, NW3, London, was home to Dr Ambedkar between 1921 and 22 while he was pursuing higher studies there. The process to buy the property was completed by the state government in September 2015.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had visited the home in November 2015 and inaugurated an exhibition of pictures based on Dr Ambedkar’s life. Ever since, the house has become a prominent visiting spot for tourists, followers and students of history. Officials from the social justice and special assistance department of the state government confirmed that a caretaker would be hired to ensure maintenance of the historic property.

“The caretaker will open the house, take care of maintenance and cleanliness, and attend to the needs of visitors to the house,” said an official. However, while the state government has confirmed that the Indian embassy in London will hire the caretaker, wages offered for the contract-based post seem to have fallen short of basic living costs in the metropolis.

The caretaker is expected to work for nine hours a day, from 9.30am to 5.30pm, and will be paid around £ 7.20/hour on a monthly basis. However, only in October last year, the Mayor of London had announced the London Living Wage or cost of basic living in the city to be £ 9.40/hour (approximately Rs 924.99). Wages of the caretaker are to be paid from reserves of £69,582 left from house purchase; the caretaker will be working on all holidays, notified by the embassy, when the house will be open to visitors.