PARADIP: For a group of 35 women, no work is big or small even if it means picking up garbage from houses every day.
Braving strong objection from their families to the "lowly work" that is frowned upon by the society, these women are now creating a greener, cleaner Paradip by diverting waste from ending up in landfills and putting it to productive use.
Engaged under the Mo Khata (My Compost) scheme, they collect garbage from different wards to segregate and compost it. Under the programme, around 50 tonne solid waste is collected from the 19 wards of the municipality.
Swachh Sathi supervisor Kalpana Malla was among the first few women to join. She had approached the civic body for the job when the scheme was launched, against her family's wishes.
"My family did not want me to do this work as I cooked for them and performed puja everyday. They said the untouchable's job would turn me into a social outcast", she said.
"But the urge to do something for the sake of myself and my family was so strong that I insisted. It took me a lot of effort to convince my in-laws and husband to allow me to join as Swachh supervisor", she added.
Kuni Patra too faced similar opposition when she was offered the job of door to door collection of garbage. The 32-year-old woman is a science graduate. She had no qualms about the nature of work as it would assure her an income to sustain her five-member family but her family was averse to the idea. For them, garbage collection was a filthy task only meant for people of lower caste.
"After I cleared my BSc, I learnt to drive an autorickshaw. I wanted to take up a job that involved driving and approached the civic body after coming to know of a vacancy. Fortunately, I was offered the job but my parents were unhappy", recalled Kuni, adding that it took her a long time to convince them about her job.
The women, many of whom are sole breadwinners, get a monthly remuneration of Rs 9,000 for the work that was earlier male-dominated. Manasi Mandal, a resident of Jagannath Colony, is one among them. "When my husband came to know of the job offer, he did not allow me to join as it meant touching waste. But he was unemployed and since I had to feed a family of six, I refused to bow down" she recalled.
"My family did not want me to do this work as I cooked for them and performed puja everyday. They said the untouchable's job would turn me into a social outcast. But the urge to do something for the sake of myself and my family was so strong that I insisted. It took me a lot of effort to convince my in-laws and husband to allow me join as Swachh supervisor," says Kalpana Malla, Swachh Sathi supervisor.
Happy with the fact that their labour is valuable as far as town's waste management and recycling is concerned, the women said it gives them a sense of empowerment.
Executive Officer of Paradip Municipality Sourindra Kumar Routray said involving women in waste collection and recycling was started on a pilot basis in some wards but going by its success, it has been extended to all wards presently.