In the direction of upliftment

Piles of household waste and litter have become a common site in the city.Any vacant plot or corner in the city has turned into a garbage dumping ground.However, the problem may finally see a solution soon, thanks to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) decision of hiring more pourakarmikas.With more helping hand the city may finally have a chance of being clean and tidy for a change.At the moment there are 14,000 pourakarmikas. The Palike has announced that they will hire an additional 6,000 after realising the dire state that the Garden city has reached. According to the BBMP official, they have already called for the tenders from the contractors. “The tenders were invited on July 25 and the last date for submitting them by contractors is August 22,” informed a BBMP official.Cleaning city is costlierApart from bring along the pleasant thought of a cleaner city, the tender will also look into revising the pay for the workers. At the moment the Palike is paying between Rs 2,800 to Rs 14,000. The new tender the monthly wages will be increased to Rs 6,900.According to a senior official from the BBMP, the wages that were being paid until now have not been revised for many years. “In a city like Bangalore, where the cost of living is high, a monthly income of Rs 2,800 is not at all sufficient,” the official informed.PF and ESI facilities for pourakarmikasOut of approximately 15,000 pourakarmikas 4,000 are employed by BBMP. These pourakarmikas have the benefits of Provident Fund (PF) and ESI facilities. With the new tender the same facilities will also be extended to the others. “Such facilities must be provided by the contractor who deals with solid waste management. It is his responsibility to ensures that all necessary details are shared with the employee. It is compulsorily to inform the employees under the contract about their ESI facility and PF payment,” he further revealed.Pourakarmikas speakShanthamma, a pourakarmika who has been working for the last eight years emphasised that the ESI facility was a much needed requirement due to the health hazards that the job poses. “Our job as the city’s cleaners requires us to work with filth and garbage and due to the nature of our work, we often fall prey to many diseases and illness.To add to it with the salary that was being paid to us, we were barely able to make ends meet let alone pay for medical bills. I am sure most of us will utilise the ESI facility as it will be very beneficial for us,” she said.