BENGALURU: A majority of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) pourakarmikas are temporarily employed on a contract-basis. And when the contractors don't provide them with necessary protective gear, the city corporation officials say there is little they can do.
The contract is not cancelled as long as the work is done, said a senior BBMP official. If the workers lodge a complaint, then a notice is sent to the official concerned. The contract still stands.
Only 3,200 of the 25,000 pourakarmikas are permanent employees of the BBMP. Contract-based employees are hired, paid and supervised by private agencies. Each contract entails three years of employment in a ward.
Though these pourakarmikas are given basic facilities, they lack protective gear that would help them keep injuries and infections at bay.
They are given low-quality gloves and masks that wear off within weeks.
Srinivas Reddy, who has been working as a pourakarmika for the past 11 years, said, “We were given gloves and masks five years ago. Then the tender changed and we haven’t got new ones since. Even the ones we get tear very soon.”
The municipal workers, who have to stand and walk on garbage for nine hours a day, don’t have proper footwear. Their measly salary of `6,691 doesn’t allow them to purchase proper shoes that would protect their feet.
Another pourakarmika, Mallesh, who has experience of close to a decade, said, “People know about disposing wet and dry waste separately but not many of them follow it. So we end up segregating the waste, standing in our trucks. We hope things get better with the next contract at least.”
Permanent municipal workers get `14,000 as salary and `15,000 to `20,000 as bonus on Ambedkar Jayanti. Besides, the government has schemes to take care of their health and their children’s education, said C S Sheshagiri, Deputy Commissioner (Administration) of BBMP.
Mutulamma from Andhra Pradesh has been working here for the past six years. “We are given ESI cards but I have never used it. It is not just about health issues. They don’t even pay us in time,” she said.
According to a survey conducted in October 2014 by Grasshopper Files, 104 out of the sample group of 470 pourakarmikas complained of joint and backache, while 112 had skin ailments, diarrheoa and headache.
The workers, a majority of whom are between ages 30 and 40, are unaware of the gravity of the situation. Kempamma, a pourakarmika, said, “It is very common for us to be in garbage all day. We are used to the pain and the skin diseases. If we complain about them, they will ask us to quit the job.”
Medical Risks
Dr Santoshamma Vastrad usually treats two to three pourakarmikas a week. Close to 70 per cent of them have skin diseases like Athlete’s Foot, while there are also cases of throat infection and malaria.
“The diseases depend on the environment. If they deal with dry waste and dust, chances of respiratory diseases are more. If they work with wet waste, then bacterial and fungal infections are common,” she explained.
“Medical waste is the most dangerous. If not disposed properly by hospitals, they will come in direct contact with hands and feet,” Santoshamma said, adding, “Gloves must be worn by pourakarmikas as they don’t usually wash their hands with soap.”
NGO Intervention
Society for Community Health Awareness Research and Action (SOCHARA), a community health centre, is working with the BBMP, trying to improve the working conditions of the pourakarmikas.
Members of the organisation have been creating awareness among the workers about occupational safety.
“The government is planning to coordinate with the contractors and provide safety gear for the pourakarmikas,” said programme officer S J Chandar.