BBMP officials told to start work at 6am
BENGALURU: The solid waste management team (SWM) of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was recently directed to start their day at 6am. Following this, the Mayor and BBMP Commissioner have now made it mandatory for officials from other departments to also start their day early.
Sources said that working in the corporation is different when compared to other departments. It is where the officials and staffers have to communicate with people and know their problems. This is why they cannot start their day in the afternoon and end it at 5pm, sources said. “They will have to start their day early and if they cannot work, then there is no need for them to be in the corporation,” BBMP Zonal Commissioner and Special Commissioner, SWM, Randeep D told TNIE.
On Thursday, SWM officials started the early morning drive and field duty. Other departments too will now have to start their field duty at 6am. These include engineering, horticulture and health departments. Also, since these are administrative orders, the BBMP council’s approval is not required.
The orders are clear. The BBMP officials will have to be on field duty from 6am to 9.30am. They can take a break and then report to office for their regular shift - from 11am to 6pm. Staffers and officials will also be posted on night shift. However, those who are marked on night shift need not be on duty from 6am.
Randeep said the aim of starting SWM was to ensure cleanliness and proper garbage management in the city. The role of the officials is to interact with people, inspect if the auto-tippers are reporting to duty, ensure the pourakarmikas are working, there is proper segregation, there are zero black spots, and that there is no unauthorised waste disposal or waste collection.
At present, the city has 200 junior health inspectors, 27 assistant executive engineers, eight zonal superintendent engineers, eight joint commissioners and four special commissioners on field duty.
The engineers, on the other hand, have been asked to inspect the condition of the roads - whether medians are well maintained, check for potholes and if the debris on road sides are cleared. Since there is little or no traffic during early morning hours, the engineers can go on rounds in their jurisdiction. Similarly, the horticulture department officials have to ensure that the parks and open spaces are well maintained. The health officials must interact with the SWM officials to ensure that garbage is picked up, areas are cleaned, fogging and spraying is done and that there are no mosquito breeding spots.
However, these recent orders have left many officials miffed. Many are of the opinion that it is unfair that the officials have to work extra to keep the city clean, while the citizens continue to litter unabashedly.