Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on August 18, 2009
Conservancy staff get masks,little else,to tackle citys garbage heaps
In October 2007,The Indian Express brought to light the poor working conditions of the conservancy staff - those cleaning up the manholes,keeping the city clean and even handling bodies.
4 min read
For a city that is on a level 6 pandemic alert,the administration seems to be making no special effort to combat the calamity outside the hospitals other than shutting down schools,colleges and cinema theatres. The administration seems to have given the National Centre for Disease Control teams dirty city tag a complete go-by with garbage piling up in the city bins as usual; some of the major issues related to waste disposal domestic,bio-medical,industrial are still unresolved. The Express begins a series on the areas where the city administration should be concentrating on to mitigate the woes of the people.
In October 2007,The Indian Express brought to light the poor working conditions of the conservancy staff – those cleaning up the manholes,keeping the city clean and even handling bodies. The Union government team came up and took stock; the chief minister offered free housing to the class four employees. Almost two years on,even as the entire city has taken to wearing masks,the conservancy staff too,providentially,can be seen wearing masks,but it has nothing to do with the flu outbreak. The cloth mask is the lone appendage from the prescribed protective gear list that includes gumboots,gloves and raincoats that has reached the conservancy staff till now.
The civic administration is insensitive and has been very slow in providing protective gear to the conservancy staff. We are tired of making demands. One of the conservancy staff engaged in handling bodies has tested H1N1 positive and is admitted to Naidu Hospital, Mukta Manohar,president of PMC Employees Union said.
The conservancy staff has to collect and dispose of hundreds of used masks thrown away by citizens,in addition to the regular waste disposal requirements. The civic administration,after being told about the high exposure of the conservancy staff,has now provided masks made of cloth for our protection, Manohar said. All other demands to ensure the safety of the staff engaged in the high-risk job of cleaning up the city has not made any progress,she said.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Suresh Jagtap said the civic administration has distributed masks to the conservancy staff,but claimed not many use them due to lack of awareness. He admitted that the other items that are part of their protective gear were yet to be delivered.
A tender was floated last year for about 7,000 gloves,gumboots and raincoats but the winning tender was approved only recently. We will soon procure these items and start distributing them to the conservancy staff, Jagtap said. A committee appointed to study the problems of conservancy staff had concluded that there was a lack of basic facilities for the conservancy staff.
It is one thing to say that awareness has to be created but first they have to be provide the protective gear. With people in all walks of life taking so much extra care,why is the conservancy staff made to suffer, Manohar asked. Corporator Dr Siddarth Dhende,also a member of the committee,was categoric while saying that the civic administration has failed to execute the recommendations of the committee.
Story continues below this ad
The civic administration has not been serious about the health of its employees,especially the conservancy staff, he said,adding that he along with other general practitioners were voluntarily providing service in the civic hospital for screening H1N1 patients,but they had to manage without the prescribed N95 mask due to its shortage.
Advertisement
Loading Taboola...
Live Blog
Top Stories
Advertisement