TIRUCHY: When the issue of city wards having insufficient sanitation workers was flagged in the very first Corporation council meeting, councillors were quelled with the reply that the city has on its rolls about 2,500 of them and that a minimum of 30 such workers are allocated for each ward. However, several councillors point the ground reality to be different.
N Prabhakaran, Ward 17 councillor, said, “Earlier, there were 48 sanitation workers in my ward. Now, there are only 14 allotted. Of these, two workers would go along with the special team engaged in the desilting of drainage channels, one is engaged for the Corporation’s data entry operations, two are not even
turning up for work, and one worker is under suspension. Therefore, my ward is actually getting the service of only eight sanitation workers. As the ward has two major drainage channels and is close to Gandhi Market, it needs more sanitation workers to ensure cleanliness.”
Ward 35 councillor S Suresh said, “Areas like Senthaneerpuram, Sangiliyandapuram, Anna Nagar, Pichai Nagar, Valluvar Nagar, and Mahalakhmi Nagar come under Ward 35. Therefore, my ward is one of the largest in the city. About five years ago, the ward used to benefit from the service of about 30 sanitation workers.
But now, the ward's area has expanded and it is difficult to ensure its cleanliness with 26 sanitation workers. Of the 26 workers, the Corporation deploys three for desilting works and four others are working in Ward 34. Therefore, we are only able to avail the service of 19 workers. The Corporation has to stop
assigning sanitation workers allotted to a ward for other services in some other area.”
When enquired, senior Corporation officials said they are considering the matter and added that they have issued stern directions to supervisors in this regard. "There is no shortage of sanitation workers. The issue is at the supervisor level and we have directed them to ensure a sufficient number of sanitation workers.
Apart from this, some sanitation workers after marking their attendance don’t visit the wards. We have taken note of these issues and will take action," a senior official said.