Tiruchy sanitation workers hit streets before dawn, then vote in Lok Sabha polls
TIRUCHY: Anticipating the hustle on election day, the corporation's sanitation team hit the city streets at the crack of dawn on Friday. Authorities, however, ensured that polling was not compromised for the workers either as they set aside time for them to cast vote.
The credit goes to the scheduling (with workers taking turns) and strategy followed by the sanitation team, said workers. The team began their first round of cleaning and garbage collection at 4 am and had it wrapped up by 6:30 am.
"Though it is a bit difficult to start cleaning work in various streets at 4 am, majority of the workers reported for duty by that time. The supervisors didn't take any action on workers who came a bit late, they focused on finishing at least one round of street cleaning before 7 am," said Thangarani, a sanitation worker. In many areas, the workers were given a break at 7 am. Since it was election day, several shops were also closed, which reduced the burden of collecting waste from many commercial establishments.
"Our supervisors did a great job managing the break time and schedule. For instance, when I was given a break to go to the polling station, another driver who was on break took charge. Thus, garbage trucks moved through most of the streets till noon," said Rajesh, a garbage truck driver.
From noon to 2 pm, the break was allotted taking into consideration the summer heat. "Almost all workers cast their vote on or before 3 pm. We divided the workers into various groups, and each ground worker worked at various times. All these were done under the guidance of senior corporation officials, and there was stern direction from the top brass to ensure that all workers got time for voting," a sanitation supervisor said. The efforts of the sanitation workers came in for appreciation from residents.
"Many of us even asked why they (workers) were not given a holiday on election day. Then, some of them said that they were working at various schedules, and supervisors made an effort to ensure that workers got time to vote. The corporation should reward these workers," said VR Gopakumar of Srirangam.