JOIN USLife has been difficult for Saraswathi after her mother, Susheelamma, passed away early last month. For Saraswathi and her young physically challenged daughter, Susheelamma’s job as a Pourakarmika put food on the table. With no form of subsistence, she is forced to return to her sister’s house in Tamil Nadu where she awaits the Rs 30 lakh compensation that was promised by the state government. For now, she is not even able to collect her mother’s salary as the bank refuses to allow access even after producing a death certificate.
Saraswathi wants to be appointed as a Pourakarmika so she can support her daughter. This has meant making several visits to the BBMP office. “There is a lockdown here, and I have to travel to Bengaluru. I don’t know what to do,” she says. Faced with Susheelamma’s example, a co-worker in the same ward and friend, Narayanamma is forced to come to terms with her fears. “If I have the virus, who will take care of my family? Will they get their compensation?” she asks. As the sole breadwinner in a family of five, she fears that her household will collapse without her.
Maitreyi Krishnan, an advocate who works for the rights of waste management workers, emphasises that there is an immediate need to expedite the process of processing applications of compensation and employment. “In many cases, these are the sole breadwinners, families will suffer if there isn’t a one-stop solution,” she adds. Including Narayanamma, many from her ward have not been vaccinated, “At the time there was a lot of confusion and we did not want to get vaccinated,” she said. Vaccine hesitancy among frontline workers was high when vaccination drive was conducted.
Lekha Adavi, an advocate, says, “there is no concerted effort to organise awareness campaigns and counsel workers to get the vaccination.” As a result, many waste management workers work in perilous condition without adequate protection. The Covid-19 risk allowance of Rs 10,000 which is available to healthcare workers, has not been extended to Pourakarmikas. Randeep D, Special Commissioner of Solid Waste Management, assures that supervisors and junior health inspectors were explaining the benefits of vaccinations on a daily basis to the workers and that the BBMP had produced two washable cloth masks and gloves.
Even then the hazardous working conditions haven’t changed. Gangamma (name changed), a waste collector, doesn’t know which houses in her ward are under home quarantine. She says, “Last year there was a special system of waste collection for houses that were under isolation. This year, there is nothing.”
According to the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, homes under isolation should dispose of their waste in yellow, non-chlorinated bags as it should be treated as biomedical waste. “In many cases, homes aren’t aware and waste management workers are forced to handle it,” says Maitreyi adding that helpers and drivers of garbage tippers, who seldom have protection often handle the waste as well.
A helper for a garbage tipper who did not want to be named said they were only given a mask and gloves last month after a gap of nearly six months. Garbage tipper drivers and helpers often do not receive the scarce resources or work benefits that are available to Pourakrmikas and waste collectors though they are equally vulnerable. Their salaries do not come under the direct pay scheme and are handled by contractors.
In a ward in Mahadevpura, a 28-year-old tipper-driver claims he hasn’t been paid in seven months. “The contractor has even retained our passbooks and ATM cards,” he said.
Neglect by policymakers and municipal authorities is characteristic of the treatment meted out to Pourakarmikas and waste workers according to Appanna, AICCTU, Karnataka secretary. “Pourakarmikas have ESI health insurance coverage, but many have not been issued their health cards. They are made to run from one place to another for some document requirement. Sometimes, they are not even aware of the procedure,” he said.
“Only when there is a hue and cry do those in power pay attention, otherwise waste management workers are left to fend for themselves,” he said.