BENGALURU: With a jump in the number of wards from the earlier 198 to 369, marshals working under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), burdened by overseeing multiple works, demand that each ward should have one dedicated marshal.
They said that in a day they have to juggle between multiple tasks -- solid waste management, illegal banner removal, revenue collection, enforcement drives etc, and that if each of the 369 wards has one marshal, they can carry out their duties effectively.
Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Marshal Colonel (retired) Rajbhir Singh said, “Retired Army personnel were hired by the then Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in 2019, mostly to curb violations in solid waste management, which include illegal dumping of waste, handing over mixed waste, burning of garbage, taking pourakarmikas’ morning attendance along with garbage collection tippers, and others. Dedicating one marshal for each of the 198 wards, a total of 240 marshals were inducted to look after processing plants and busy markets too.”
While the marshals were recruited mainly to oversee solid waste management, the burden of work kept growing, Singh said. “We were gradually deputed to enforce single-use plastic ban, remove illegal flex banners, safeguard lakes, footpath encroachment clearance drives and are taken along for revenue collection drives. Multiple enforcement drives by different departments in the GBA are under way, and marshals are part of them. Marshals are also on duty during emergencies like flooding, treefall and others,” the chief marshal explained.
Adding to the high workload was the formation of the GBA and five corporations, which doubled the number of wards in Bengaluru from 198 to 369. He said while the number of wards doubled, the strength of marshals has remained the same.
Sharing their experience, marshals said their job is challenging and tiring, and if more people are inducted, their burden would be reduced. Further, they said that every day, marshals face many unpleasant situations and resistance from citizens while discharging their duties, and due to this, the attrition rate is also high, with new recruits leaving the job within a year.
“For better enforcement of solid waste management, we have urged the government to induct more marshals, so that each ward has one dedicated marshal,” Singh said.