The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : They keep the city clean, but struggle to pull on

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Monday, May 19, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

They keep the city clean, but struggle to pull on

Special Correspondent

Photo: K. Ananthan

Looking forward: S. Ilangovan and his children. –

S. Ilangovan’s day begins at 5 a.m. He is among the more than 2,000 conservancy workers of the Coimbatore Corporation who slog to keep the city clean. But, his life is a mess. Even the cost of the tea that he needs to have often to keep going at work has increased sharply because of inflation.

“We have six glasses of tea from 6 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. during our morning shift. Otherwise, it will be difficult to carry out a physically demanding work,” Mr. Ilangovan and fellow-sweeper S. Kumar say. “From Rs.3 in January, it has now gone up to Rs.4 a glass. We spend close to Rs.30 on tea alone every day. Imagine how much we will have to spend on other things that we cannot avoid,” Mr. Ilangovan points out.

Money lenders

Both of them had worked as badlis (temporary workers) from June 1997. Their services were regularised only a few months ago. They earned Rs.72 for a day’s work then. And, they got to work for three days to 10 days a month when permanent workers went on leave. Now, conservancy workers get a salary of Rs. 6,150. After the standard deductions, they take home Rs. 5,840.

But, does the entire money get to meet a family’s requirements? Not quite. Almost all the conservancy workers are in the stranglehold of money lenders. “A huge chunk of our salary goes towards repaying loans got at Rs.10 as interest for every Rs.100,” says Mr. Kumar. “Each family will have a loan of at least Rs.30,000 to keep life going. A huge and unavoidable interest adds to the misery. Quarters for all the conservancy workers will help avoid huge expenses on rent.” (The Corporation says it is planning tenements for all the workers within the city.)

Mr. Ilangovan says the rising prices have combined with the repayment burden to deny any savings. His son I. Bharath wants to be a police officer. “I want my sister (I. Swathi) to become a District Collector,” he says. Both the children are studying in the Corporation school at Ganapathy, which is close to the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation Colony at Kamarajapuram where the workers stay in row houses.

“I want my children to realise their dreams,” says Mr. Ilangovan, who has studied only up to Third Standard. He is a third generation conservancy worker in the Corporation. “The price rise is killing. But, my wife and I do the best to ensure that the children get the food they want. My son gets his favourite non-vegetarian food once a week, instead of the earlier three or four days,” he says.

The conservancy worker does not hate his job, despite the problems. “This is what I know best. My job is to ensure there is no garbage in the area I work.”

Healthcare

Healthcare is an area of concern. “We have a medical allowance of Rs.10 a month. But, for some problems we are forced to go to private clinics where consultation costs Rs.50 and an injection Rs. 20 to Rs. 30. Besides, we have to buy medicines,” he laments.

A bit better disposed worker like A. Palaniammal (43) too finds the going tough. She is able to afford a house on rent and send her son to college because her husband works for the Coimbatore Market Committee. And, her’s is a case of expenses rising with the desire for a better life. “I need to borrow to fund my son’s education. So, we cut expenses on some items such as cooking oil, the consumption of which has come down from two litres to one a month.”

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