Phidim, April 23 Health workers at Phidim Municipality have been deprived of salary for the past three months in Panchthar. Earlier, the government used to release health workers’ salary and allowance through the District Health Office. Rural municipality and municipality have been handed prerogative to allocate salary to health workers after the merger of district health office with the local level. According to accountant at DHO Panchthar Subash Tamang, the municipality had refused to sanction salary to health workers citing fund crunch. Around 300 health workers in Phidim Municipality have been deprived of their salary for the past three months due to the municipality’s delay. Non-gazetted first class officer Hem Dhungana had complained the municipality had shown no interest in releasing the salary. “It is very difficult as we have not got salary for such a long time”, he added. Acting Chief Bhupal Shrestha said the employees had warned they would quit working. Municipality Administrative officer Gurudutta Subedi claimed that the salary was not released as the ministry had not allocated the budget for salary. “The salary has been halted as budget in the municipality is not enough to pay the health workers,” Subedi said.