Latur: Protesting visiting lecturers of government polytechnic colleges on Friday claimed their pending salaries now amount to Rs 2.96 crore.

This amount is for 540 visiting lecturers for 2023-24, which includes 104 lecturers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 80 in Jintur, 35 in Beed, 52 in Nanded, 53 in Dharashiv, 51 in Latur, among others.

The government has Rs 46,000 crore for the Ladki Bahin Yojana ahead of the state assembly polls but cannot pay salaries to visiting lecturers, one of those affected said here.

Some of the lecturers recently met former Rajya Sabha member Janardhan Waghmare to seek guidance on future course of action.