CHENNAI: After three days, Thilaga (name changed) had a bath on Tuesday. After an entire night of sweeping and collecting waste, the bath was a respite. But the “bathroom” is nothing but a row of taps in a space without a door. Thilaga is one of the 30 women conservancy workers brought to Kancheepuram for the Aththi Varadar festival from Pollachi. According to Kancheepuram municipality estimates, 620 sanitary workers have been brought in from various districts for the festival, including 200 from Madurai, 30 from Paramakudi and 50 from Pollachi. They work on shifts.
On Tuesday, 136 workers worked on a single shift. These women from Pollachi were the only female sanitary workers of the lot. “We felt bad that we had to step inside the holy premises without taking bath. We already smell bad because of the waste and sweat and it is very uncomfortable without having a bath,” says Thilaga.
“We found they had made no arrangements for us. For the first two nights, we slept at the Anna Kalaiarangam with 300 other men that we did not know. Then we fought with the authorities, asking them to shift us, which they finally did last night.” Thilaga is a contract worker.
On Monday night, a group of 50 men and women from Pollachi were shifted to the Chairman Swaminatha Mudaliyar School in Pillayarpalayam. Though they finally have access to a proper bathroom now, each conservancy worker would have to share the two available bathrooms with 49 others. Out of the two bathrooms, one was unusable.
“There was fecal matter littered on the floor,” workers said. “There are at least four of us having period today. There is always someone or the other inside since there are no separate toilets. By the time all of us have a bath and go to sleep, it is already time to go back to work,” says Maheswari. The workers from Pollachi are on night duty, working from 10 pm to 6 am. They are given tea and biscuits once during the night apart from lunch and breakfast during the day.
“On some days like today they ask us to come as early as 7 pm. We are taken to the temple in a truck but ever since we were shifted from Anna Kalaiarangam, we have to wait for a long time for the truck. On Monday, we walked 4km to come back from the temple to the school,” says Valarmathi, also a contract staff.
“Even during the Tsunami, they did not pick women to go to other districts. For the first time in the 15 years that I’ve worked here, they asked me if I would go. I thought it was a good beginning because women can earn some extra cash.”
For working here, the conservancy staff get `100 as allowance every day in addition to their daily wages. When contacted, Kancheepuram municipality officials said that they had done their best to make their stay comfortable.
“They (the women) did not want to sleep in the common hall with the men. So, we shifted them to a school which has all necessary facilities,” says an official. While their stay has been far from pleasant, the workers have found their silver lining. “We can see Aththi Varadar whenever we want. We go through the VIP queue at night and spend as long as we want, praying,” said Maheswaran M. (Names of workers have been changed to protect identity.)