Cleaning staff shortage sweeps Vidhana Soudha
BENGALURU: Late last Sunday evening, the Vidhana Soudha administration received a message from the higher-ups -- keep the Soudha premises clean. This included the corridor and banquet hall, where a small event was arranged for the release of a booklet on one year of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s government. The administration, encumbered with few employees and limited time, had to marshal the housekeeping staff to do a rush job on Monday morning, just minutes before the event.
This incident brought to light the acute shortage of staff at Vidhana Soudha. Despite the fact that the Soudha is sparely used, their workload has increased, with a sharp emphasis on cleanliness due to the Covid crisis. The imposing structure has three main floors and a floor area of 5.05 lakh sqft. This mega building, that houses the legislature, has 370 rooms and 14 general toilet complexes within the premises. According to sources from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), the sanctioned post of sweepers is 84.
Over a period of time, recruitment stopped and the number came down to 33, due to some employees retiring, and a few passing away. Sources said that these 33 employees, along with a few cleaning personnel from the Public Works Department (PWD) sweep the floors, rooms, corridors and banquet hall every day. They begin work at 7.30am and finish by 2.30pm. Each staffer sweeps at least eight to ten rooms, corridors and stairs. Not just this, the pandemic outbreak and resultant lockdown is also affecting them. Some personnel come from Anekal, Doddaballapura, Hosakote and other places outside Bengaluru and don’t get proper transportation due to the Covid-19 curbs.
Many of them are above 50 years of age. There is irregular attendance because of these constraints. There are 14 outsourced personnel who clean the toilets. According to sources, there is a shortage of lift operators too. There are 10 lifts in Vidhana Soudha, and only 10 operators. A senior DPAR official, on condition of anonymity, admitted that there was indeed staff shortage. “This issue will be sorted out. The government plans to outsource cleaning work to a private agency. There is no move to appoint permanent staff,’’ the official told The New Indian Express.