The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Scavengers’ to be rehabilitated

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Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Scavengers’ to be rehabilitated

Special Correspondent

State to end practice from October 2

There are 403 scavengers in
the State
50 p.c. of pourakarmika posts vacant in 125 ULBs

BANGALORE: Acknowledging the existence of “scavengers” in some urban areas, the State Government on Monday said it would draw up a plan to put an end to this practice from October 2.

Minister for Urban Development S. Suresh Kumar told presspersons here that there were still 403 “scavengers” employed by urban local bodies (ULBs) to remove night soil. “It is shameful that we still have this practice.”

The highest number of “scavengers” was in Gulbarga district, followed by Kolar, Chickballapur, Belgaum, Bidar, Bangalore Urban, Bijapur and Ramanagara (12).

As many as 10 “scavengers” work in difficult and unhygienic conditions in Chittapur (Gulbarga). The urban local bodies have not recruited “scavengers”/sweepers on a permanent basis. To make matters worse, the workers get a paltry monthly sum from contractors.

Mr. Kumar, who reviewed the progress of department schemes with officials, said the department had decided to prepare a plan to rehabilitate “scavengers” in all urban local bodies.

These “scavengers”, another class of pourakarmikas, remove garbage and then manually load it onto corporation trucks in cities such as Bangalore, which have several waste collection points. They had no protection against bacteria and harmful gases.

The rehabilitation plan was being prepared and they would be provided alternative jobs in the urban local bodies, he said.

On the shortage of pourakarmikas, the Minister said 50 per cent of posts were vacant in 125 ULBs. The ULBs required 14,000 personnel. But, there were only 4,000 pourakarmikas. Nearly 2,000 pourakarmikas had been working on daily wages, he said.

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