KOCHI: COVID-19 scare and lockdown may have been keeping most people indoors, but not them. Hundreds of sanitation workers are putting their lives at risk everyday to do their part in curbing the spread of the pandemic. Despite all odds, including lack of transportation and lockdown restrictions, they turn up for work without fail to collect waste, disinfect public spaces and ensure the city is spic and span
‘We don’t want the city to stink’
The Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown might have confined the entire population to their homes, but not them. For Arumughan, the 63-year-old garbage collector, the essential nature of his work necessitates that he be present every day without fail. Not just him, the entire 11-member family of Arumughan works hard to ensure the movement of garbage to the waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.“The lockdown has not brought any changes to our work profile. If we stop working, the city will start to stink. We don’t want the people to suffer. So, we collect garbage and load it to the trucks,” says Arumughan.
“Our day begins by collecting waste from shops and homes along the main roads by 5am. By 6.30am, we move towards the residential areas. By around 12.30pm, we call it a day,” said Haridas KT, a family member.However, the lockdown has eased their work. “We used to collect large quantities of waste from shops and hotels, which is now zero, considering that no commercial establishment is open post lockdown,” said Savithri Joshi, daughter-in-law of Arumughan.
‘When the scare was peaking, we were busy cleaning roads’
For Sheela Devasy, a day begins with the plastic waste collection rounds that she makes around various wards at Eloor Municipality. This 50-year-old’s work starts from 8 am and continues till 3 pm. “I do everything,” she said.“When the COVID-19 scare was at its zenith and the cases were coming in every day, my team-mates and I were engaged in sweeping roads and streets, getting them ready for the Health Department workers to spray disinfectants,” she said. Sheela began working for the civic body as a member of the Haritha Karma Sena.
“As a part of the anti-COVID operations, those in the Sena were recruited as sweepers by the civic body. Before that, I used to collect plastic waste. However, we were asked to discontinue that after the outbreak of COVID-19. That was on March 21. But, we have resumed collecting plastics from April 18,” said Sheela who lives at Eloor. According to her, she and her team-mate Sanuja P S, have a roster that has the date of collection of plastic and the ward. “After lockdown, the amount of plastic waste being generated by the households is very less,” she added.
‘Lockdown has spared us of offending stares’
Not everybody gets to stay at home. In fact, some have to work harder to ensure people can stay safe and clean. Forty-seven-year-old O Rajendran is one such person. He takes care of garbage disposal, unclogs drains, disinfects roads and streets besides trimming the overgrown weeds and the trees. He says even as sanitisation works are being carried out as part of preventive measures against Covid-19, the majority of work is also done keeping in mind the upcoming monsoon season.
“We sweep the roads and spray disinfectants to trounce the disease-causing pathogens,” says Rajendran who is now cleaning drains. “Unlike in the past when you had to enter the drains to clean them, we have equipment today,” he said. However, it is not an easy job, he adds.
“The filth and waste that gets dumped into the drains are enormous. No wonder the drains get clogged, leading to flooding,” he said.Rajendran and his team-mates are on a mission to save the city. “Before COVID-19 and lockdown we had to work around the crowd and traffic, most often getting angry stares. But now, with everyone at home, we don’t have to worry about the public getting offended,” he added.
‘Many are yet to pay us but we do our work’
The lockdown has brought with it trying times for 52-year-old C J Solomon. Engaged in collecting trash and waste from homes for the past 28 years, Solomon today struggles to make ends meet, as payments have been pending from many homes, citing lockdown as a reason. The virus has been a
double-whammy for him, having suffered a big blow last year when his wife Lakshmi, who also worked with him, met with an accident on the eve of Independence Day.
“We get paid from the individual houses but that has been pending since lockdown. At a time when everybody struggles without jobs and money, we can’t demand money beyond a point. Nevertheless, we continue to collect trash from all these houses,” said Solomon, who covers over 300 houses from Chakkaraparambu through Vennala to Kottangavu.A native of Munnambam, Solomon stays in a rented house at Thykkavu.
“Work starts from 3:30am and goes on till all the trash and waste, brought to the collection point, is taken by the corporation. We wait till the truck arrives and loads our sacks,” said Solomon. “Usually, I earn around `20,000 a month. Most of this money is spent on medicines and rent now. With the corporation not providing us masks or gloves, we have brought these on our own, for self-protection,” said Solomon.
‘We work when the city sleeps’
Sixty-four-year-old Sahadevan A, who has been engaged in collecting waste for the past 18 years in Kochi, gets up at 3:30am and starts his job. In a methodical and systematic sweep, he covers over 112 houses on Deshabhimani and Preetham roads. It was back in 2002 that Sahadevan came to Kochi, hunting for a job. “I have been staying in a rented house in Kochi for almost 18 years now. We do our job when the city sleeps and finishes it as citizens slowly wake up, by 6:30am. We bring the collected waste to the Kochi corporation’s waste collection points,” said Sahadevan, whose home is at Thuravoor near Cherthala.
“We are not employees of the Kochi corporation or any other government department. We get paid from the individual homes from where we collect the waste. It was through a residents’ association that I got the job and I began by collecting waste from around 30 houses. Today, the number has increased,” said Sahadevan, who earns around `20,000 a month. “I’m sure that if we stop our work, Kochi will stink. One cannot dump waste on public roads and there is a limit to which the corporation can organise waste-collection. In many places, there are no mechanisms,” said Sahadevan.
‘Can’t let waste pile up’
Anwar T A quit his job as a KSRTC driver when the long tiring drives started affecting his health. After he joined as the driver of the compactor vehicle which transported garbage to the Brahamapuram plant, Anwar had got adjusted to the schedule that suited him until the lockdown happened. Now, this native of Kothamangalam rides 110 km everyday on his motorcycle, so that Kochi doesn’t reel under garbage issue.
“Since we start early in the morning, riding a motorcycle is a risky thing. So, I preferred public transport to reach Kochi. However, due to the new circumstances, that is not possible. Staying away is not an option as a reluctance on my part can affect the waste movement here,” says Anwar. Interestingly, he has been working continuously for the last 30 days. “Some people can’t make it to work. So, I do their job too,” he adds.
‘Lucky to have a job’
For Pennamma Sebastian, cleaning work is a source to sustain amid the struggles of her life. Living with her ailing son at Udaya Colony in Kadavanthra, the 58-year-old Kudumbashree worker is into the job for the past 12 years. “We can’t stay back home in the name of lockdown. This is an emergency service,” she said.
Despite religiously doing their work, she says workers like her are not covered under any Kochi Corporation’s welfare schemes. “Other than the autorickshaw provided for transport from our home to the workplace, we do not get any benefits. As part of Covid-19 preventive measure, the corporation officials have given two gloves, two soaps, face mask and towel,” said Sujatha S, a team members.
Amid all the challenges, most of them believe that they are lucky enough to have the job. “At a time when all other sectors were halted and employees remain jobless, we have a source of income to sustain,” Shaji V, a worker from Gandhi Nagar.