BENGALURU: In the absence of public transport due to the ongoing lockdown, a 36-year-old railway housekeeping staffer walks 15 km on alternate days to keep the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (Bengaluru City) railway station spick and span.
R Usha, a housekeeping supervisor, resides in the slum quarters of Jai Bhuvaneshwari Nagar in Nandini Layout, nearly 7.5 km away from the station -- a 15-km walk to and fro.
The mother of three leaves her home before 7.30 am so that she can be at the station by 9 am. This has been her routine for over a month now.
Usha told The New Indian Express, "Once in a while, someone on the road is kind enough to give a lift. My husband works as a tempo driver but is trying to do all sorts of odd jobs now temporarily to make some money. So, he is unable to drop me nor are buses running."
Educated upto Class X, she says a sense of duty goads her to work even in this shutdown period. "I work for a contractor and joined work at the railway station just eight months ago. No one is forcing me to come to work in this period and we have been clearly told to be at home if we want to. I am responsible for keeping the station clean and want to do it well. It is crucial, particularly in this dangerous time, that cleanliness be given priority," she said.
At least 50 housekeeping staff, mostly women, who reside close to the station come to work to carry out chores here. "It will also give the women a feeling of safety and confidence when a woman supervisor is around. This also motivates me to come," she said.
Asked if she was not worried about catching the coronavirus, Usha said, "For the first four days after the lockdown was announced, I did not go to work out of fear. But during the housekeeping, we use soap and disinfectants which keeps us safe."
Despite passengers not being around, there is much work to do, the supervisor says. "Stray dogs and even monkeys bring food and throw it around. Dust piles up constantly as much of the premises is in an open space and some people throw garbage around too. Besides, there is so much of scrubbing to be done," she explains.
Walking home after work is not so tedious as two other staffers, P Ganganna and R Lokesh, who stay near her place, accompany her after the shift winds up by 5 pm. "We chat en route and do not feel the strain. A couple of times, my husband was free and picked me up in his two-wheeler. Once, we found an auto driver willing to ferry us and shared the fare," she said.
Chief Public Relations Officer, E Vijaya, lauded these three staffers as well as housekeeping boys, E Santhosh and Bhupati. Santhosh travels 49 km on a two-wheeler to report on alternate days at the station while Bhupati, who stays near the station now, managed to reach Bengaluru from Ramanagara, 140 km away, by taking lifts from truck drivers.
"They are shining examples for all of us. Though the salary will be mandatorily paid to them even if they cannot come to work, they come out of their own choice," she said.