‘Crusaders of Cleanliness’ brave Corona threat to keep city clean
Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Apr 2: Braving the threat of deadly COVID-19 pandemic, about 2500 crusaders of cleanliness armed with a long broom and spades having their face masked daily enter streets and roads of the city while some of them are seen with garbage carrier autos visiting door-to-door collecting household wastes and still some of their colleagues carry heavy containers to spray disinfectant across the city to sanitize it from all infections.
Not only this, these men are even seen entering deep drains with spades to remove the blockage so that dirty water does not come out on roads.
“Sir our duty starts from 7 in the morning and we work till 11:30 am,” Sweety (name changed)-a JMC safai karamchari engaged through some contractor for cleaning streets and roads of a city area told this reporter.
On salary, she informed that Rs. 6000 is paid to her and she also claimed that out of this amount the concerned Supervisor takes Rs. 1500 illegally.
Sweety also claimed that permanent safai karamcharis pay Rs. 2500 to the Supervisors and this practice is prevailing across the Jammu city in all JMC Wards.
“If we disclose this to anyone or deny the payments to the Supervisor, we face harassment by getting extra and unwanted works,” she claimed adding that they are not paid for the days we take some leave.
Sweety also informed that this time they were also given masks, gloves and sanitizers as there is Coronavirus pandemic.
Twenty-five year old Peter (name changed) daily visits a prominent area of Jammu West for cleaning the area and to remove the garbage thrown by people here and there in his hand-pulled cart.
“Sir Jammu Municipal Corporation has given me safety gears and we are instructed to maintain social distancing with others while on duty as there is a risk of Coronavirus infection these days,” he said adding that they wash their hands repeatedly to avoid infections.
Similar were the views of many other safai karamcharis who rue poor working conditions and harassment from the so called NGOs and contractors despite working hard.
Rinku Gill-a leader of the safai karamcharis, when contacted, informed that insurance cover for the men and women involved in cleanliness of the city is their long pending demand with the Government apart from minimum wages as per the norms of a Union Territory.
He also said that safai karamcharis also need more gloves and masks per week as repeated use of these safety gears reduces their efficiency.
When contacted JMC Commissioner, Avni Lavasa informed that insurance of Safai Karamcharis by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has started from today (April 1, 2020) itself amidst the nationwide lockdown.
“A small part of premium will be deducted from the salaries of the safai karamcharis while the remaining will be paid by the Government and about 2500 safai karamcharis including those working with NGOs will benefit from this scheme,” the JMC Commissioner informed.
Lavasa further said that JMC also trains safai karamcharis on how to perform their duties of cleaning the city by remaining safe but yet there is need to give them more intense training.
On the use of machine spray of disinfectants, she said that JMC Maskis are trained in handling such devises yet protective equipments have been provided to these workers so that they remain safe and secure while using these devices.
On working guidelines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, she informed that Ministry of Urban Development has given instructions for people working in quarantine centres at hospitals and elsewhere to use Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) on entering such centres.
However, she informed that JMC safai karmacharis are not entering these centres but working outside at such places.
On Red Zone areas in the city she informed that they are thinking over if safai karamchari should be send there or not but as of now no JMC safai karamchari is being allowed to enter such places.
It is pertinent to mention here that some places in Jammu city have been designated as red zones after some positive cases of COVID-19 were reported from there and security forces along with local police are not allowing anyone to enter or leave such places.
Lavasa further informed that JMC has given gloves, masks, soap and sanitisers to the safai karamcharis and also replaces these safety gears after 2-3 days.
“As there is a problem of shortage of these safety equipments across the country so the same are not replaced on daily basis,” the JMC Commissioner said.
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